ASA University Bangladesh.doc

ASA University Bangladesh

Assignment

on

Challenge of Project Management In Bangladesh.

P REPARED F OR

Prof. Md. Muinuddin Khan

Vice ChancellorASA University Bangladesh

P REPARED BY MD.KAMRUL ISLAM

ID NO: 102-14-0011BATCH: 10th

SECTION: B

MBA PROGRAM (R)SEMESTER: FALL 2011

D ATE O F S UBMISSION: 04.01.2012

AssignmentChallenge of Project Management In Bangladesh (with Special Refers to

Performance of ADP and PPP)

19 December 2010

Prof. Md. Muinuddin Khan

Faculty of Business Administration

Dept. of Masters of Business Administration

ASA University Bangladesh

Sub: Submission of the report on ” Problems and prospect of Project Management in Bangladesh”

Revered Sir,

The report on” Problems and prospect of Project Management in Bangladesh” accompanies this

letter.

I have put our honest effort in this report. And it’s the initial work done by me an in future I will

develop our management skill. This is also the first report of the topic like this done by me. The

information in this report is true and genuine as far as I know. But there might be some

mistakes that were not noticed by me because of my inexperience.

I hope that the report will meet your expectations. I will always be available for any clarification

that you may require.

Thank you

Sincerely,

----------------------

[Feroz Ahamed]

Acknowledgement At first I want to express my gratitude to our Vice chancellor and course teacher of “Project management” Professor MM Khan, vice chancellor, ASA University. With out whose support and encouragement this term paper would not have been possible.

We have done this work with a great deal of certain explanations, facts and information to make a detail analysis. This kind of scenario analysis gives us an opportunity to come the real world situation. The experience we have piled up will remain as priceless assets of our life.

Assignment topic mainly based on practical study and practical oriented knowledge which may accelerates us to cope with any complex environment and make us confident to face any adverse situation. This term paper has been under your able leadership and silly mistakes due to our limited aptitude and time constraints. In this regards, we seek your kind consideration as we are in the process of learning.

Once again we convey our endless thanks to our teacher and look forward his support and consideration in the future as well.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Background Note: Bangladesh…………………………………………………………………………….01

Challenges project management in Bangladesh…………………………………………………………...05

Bangladesh : Environmental Issues………………………………………………………………………..08

Population and food challenge of Bangladesh in the 21st century………………………………………..08

Economic challenge of agriculture in Bangladesh………………………………………………………...09

Merchandising of Fresh Fruits, Vegetables and Potatoes…………………………………………………10

Declining Size of Farm……………………………………………………………………………………12

Dominance of Small Size Farms and Their Weak Financial Capacity……………………………………12

Degradation of Land Quality………………………………………………………………………………13

Pollution of River Water.…………...……………………………………………………………………..13

Higher Costs of Production………………………………………………………………………………..13

Inadequate Institutional Supports………………………………………………………………………….14

Bad effects of corruption In Bangladesh………...………………………………………………………...15

Climate Change……………………………………………………………………………………………17

Research Facilities to be Created and Expanded………………………………………………………….17

Poverty in Bangladesh……………………………………………………………………………………..18

Non-Profit Marketing- Problems and Future Challenges…………………………………………………19

Problem of Professional Deficiency……………………………………………………………………….20

Infrastructural constraints………………………………………………………………………………….20

Lack of dedicated and committed people………………………………………………………………….20

Increasing domination of social climbers………………………………………………………………….20

Increasing insensitivity among masses……………………………………………………………………21

Large-scale misuse of funds……………………………………………………………………………….21

Decreasing contributions to the society…………………………………………………………………...21

Water problems in Bangladesh……………………………………………………………………………22

Effect of unemployment problem…………………………………………………………………………22

Inefficiency of Bureaucracy……………………………………………………………………………….22

Political interference in administration……………………………………………………………………23

Nepotism…………………………………………………………………………………………………..23

Improper use of resources…………………………………………………………………………………23

Inadequate funds…………………………………………………………………………………………..23

Lack of trained manpower…………………………………………………………………………………24

Market monitoring…………………………………………………………………………………………24

Rice yield to leap on less irrigation………………………………………………………………………..24

Trade liberalization induces food price hike, WB admits …………………………………………………26

Information technology in Bangladesh……………………………………………………………………28

Bangladesh air pollution…………………………………………………………………………………...32

Water supply and sanitation in Bangladesh………………………………………………………………33

Textile sector………………………………………………………………………………………………35

Bangladesh stock market -- possibilities and problems…………………………………………………...35

Default Culture of Bangladesh…………………………………………………………………………….39

Risks……………………………………………………………………………………………………….40

Increasing tax – GDP ratio………………………………………………………………………………...42

Literacy rate of Bangladesh rises to 63 percent…………………………………………………………...44

Absence of corporate social reporting (CSR) in Bangladesh: a research note…………………………….45

Natural Resources in Bangladesh………………………………………………………………………….45

Tax Justice in Bangladesh………………………………………………………………………………...46

Insufficient reading materials and Ineffective service…………………………………………………….47

Constraints of Agriculture in Bangladesh…………………………………………………………………47

Gas supply problems and the economy……………………………………………………………………48

Higher Education in Bangladesh: Problems and Policies…………………………………………………49

Inequality in taxing Wages between Private and Public Sector…………………………………………...50

Bangladesh's Severe Transportation Problems……………………………………………………………50

Watch for Signs of Poor Project Planning………………………………………………………………...53

Govt trying best to overcome food crisis: Moeen advises people to eat potato with rice …………………55

Good Governance: Role of Individuals Vs. Institutions…………………………………………………..56

Good Governance: Rule of Law not rule of men or women………………………………………………56

Good Governance: People Centric Governance…………………………………………………………...57

Good Governance: Conceptual Framework……………………………………………………………….57

Human dignity and humiliation studies…………………………………………………………………...58

Good Governance: Role of Individual Stakeholders………………………………………………………59

Good Governance: Role of Civil Society………………………………………………………………….60

Good Governance: Role of Private Sector………………………………………………………………...61

Good Governance: Role of Institutions……………………………………………………………………61

Good Governance: Role of Parliament……………………………………………………………………62

Good Governance: Role of Judiciary……………………………………………………………………..63

Good Governance: Role of Bureaucracy………………………………………………………………….64

Good Governance: Role of Media………………………………………………………………………...64

Good Governance: Role of Educational Institutions………………………………………………………65

Good Governance: Role of Anti Corruption Commission………………………………………………...65

Good Governance: Role of Public Service Commission………………………………………………….67

Steps to solve political problems…………………………………………………………………………..67

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………...…………….……67

Road Map to Good Governance– The Nine I Model………………………………………………………70

Some news collects from newspaper………………………………………………………………………

Background Note: Bangladesh

Official Name: People's Republic of Bangladesh

PROFILE

Geography

Area: 147, 570 sq. km. (55,813 sq. mi.); about the size of Iowa. Cities: Capital--Dhaka (pop. 10

million). Other cities--Chittagong (2.8 million), Khulna (1.8 million),Rajshahi (1 million).Terrain:

Mainly flat alluvial plain, with hills in the northeast and southeast. Climate: Semitropical,

monsoonal.

People

Nationality: Noun and adjective--Bangladeshi(s).Population (July 2009 CIA est.): 156 million.

Annual population growth rate (July 2009 CIA est.): 1.29%.Ethnic groups (1998, CIA): Bengali

98%, other 2% (including tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims). Religions (1998, CIA): Muslim

83%; Hindu 16%; Christian 0.3%, Buddhist 0.6%, others 0.3%.Languages: Bangla (official, also

known as Bengali), English.Education: Attendance--61%. Adult literacy rate--47.5%. (UNDP

Human Development Index 2007/2008)Health (CIA World Factbook): Infant mortality rate

(below 1)--59/1,000. Life expectancy-- 60.25 years. Work force (70.86 million): Agriculture,

forestry, and fisheries--63%; manufacturing--11%; mining and quarrying--0.2%.

Government

Type: Parliamentary democracy. Independence: 1971 (from Pakistan).Constitution: 1972;

amended 1974, 1979, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1996, 2004.Branches: Executive--president (chief of

state), prime minister (head of government), cabinet. Legislative--unicameral Parliament (345

members). Judicial--civil court system based on British model. Administrative subdivisions:

Divisions, districts, sub districts, unions, villages.

Political parties: 30-40 active political parties. Largest ones include Bangladesh Nationalist Party

(BNP),the Awami League (AL), the Jatiya Party, and the Jamaat-e-Islami Party.

Suffrage: Universal at age 18.

Economy

Fiscal year: July 1 to June 30. Annual GDP growth rate (FY 2008): 6.2%; (FY 2008 World Bank

est.): below 6%.Current GDP (2008 est.): $84.2 billion (official); $226.4 billion (PPP).Per capita

GDP (2008 est.): $554 (official); $1,500 (PPP).Inflation (December 2008): 6.03% (point to point

basis) and 8.9% (monthly average basis).Exchange rate: Dec. 2009: U.S. $1=69.03 BDT; 2008:

U.S. $1=68.55 BDT; 2007: U.S. $1=69.89 BDT.Annual budget (2008 est.): $12.54 billion.Natural

resources: Natural gas, fertile soil, water.Agriculture (19.1% of GDP): Products--rice, jute, tea,

sugar, wheat. Industry (manufacturing; 28.6% of GDP): Types--garments and knitwear, jute

goods, frozen fish and seafood, textiles, fertilizer, sugar, tea, leather, ship-breaking for scrap,

pharmaceuticals, ceramic tableware, newsprint. Trade: Total imports (FY 2008)--$21.6 billion:

capital goods, food grains, petroleum, textiles, chemicals, vegetable oils. Growth rate over

previous fiscal year: 25.95%. Total exports (FY 2008)- $14.11 billion: garments and knitwear,

frozen fish, jute and jute goods, leather and leather products, tea, urea fertilizer, ceramic

tableware. Growth rate over previous fiscal year: 16.04%. Exports to U.S. (Jan. Dec. 2008)--$3.74

billion. Imports from U.S. (Jan.-Dec. 2008)--$468.1 million.

GEOGRAPHY

Bangladesh is a low-lying, riparian country located in South Asia with a largely marshy jungle

coastline of 710 kilometers (440 mi.) on the northern littoral of the Bay of Bengal. Formed by a

deltaic plain at the confluence of the Ganges (Padma), Brahmaputra (Jamuna), and Meghna

Rivers and their tributaries, Bangladesh's alluvial soil is highly fertile but vulnerable to flood and

drought. Hills rise above the plain only in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in the far southeast and the

Sylhet division in the northeast. Straddling the Tropic of Cancer, Bangladesh has a subtropical

monsoonal climate characterized by heavy seasonal rainfall, moderately warm temperatures,

and high humidity. Natural calamities, such as floods, tropical cyclones, tornadoes, and tidal

bores affect the country almost every year. Bangladesh also is affected by major cyclones on

average 16 times a decade. Urbanization is proceeding rapidly, and it is estimated that only 30%

of the population entering the labor force in the future will be absorbed into agriculture,

although many will likely find other kinds of work in rural areas. The areas around Dhaka and

Comilla are the most densely settled. The Sundarbans, an area of coastal tropical jungle in the

southwest and last wild home of the Bengal tiger, and the Chittagong Hill Tracts on the

southeastern border with Burma and India, are the least densely populated.

PEOPLE

The area that is now Bangladesh has a rich historical and cultural past, combining Dravidian,

Indo-Aryan, Mongol/Mughul, Arab, Persian, Turkic, and west European cultures. Residents of

Bangladesh, about 98% of whom are ethnic Bengali and speak Bangla, are called Bangladeshis.

Urdu-speaking, non-Bengali Muslims of Indian origin, and various tribal groups, mostly in the

Chittagong Hill Tracts, comprise the remainder. Most Bangladeshis (about 83%) are Muslims, but

Hindus constitute a sizable (16%) minority. There also are a small number of Buddhists,

Christians, and animists. English is spoken in urban areas and among the educated.Sufi religious

teachers succeeded in converting many Bengalis to Islam, even before the arrival of Muslim

armies from the west. About 1200 AD, Muslim invaders established political control over the

Bengal region. This political control also encouraged conversion to Islam. Since then, Islam has

played a crucial role in the region's history and politics, with a Muslim majority emerging,

particularly in the eastern region of Bengal.

HISTORY

Bengal was absorbed into the Mughul Empire in the 16th century, and Dhaka, the seat of a

nawab (the representative of the emperor), gained some importance as a provincial center. But

it remained remote and thus a difficult to govern region--especially the section east of the

Brahmaputra River--outside the mainstream of Mughul politics. Portuguese traders and

missionaries were the first Europeans to reach Bengal in the latter part of the 15th century. They

were followed by representatives of the Dutch, French, and British East India Companies. By the

end of the 17th century, the British presence on the Indian subcontinent was centered in

Calcutta. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the British gradually extended their commercial

contacts and administrative control beyond Calcutta to Bengal. In 1859, the British Crown

replaced the East India Company, extending British dominion from Bengal, which became a

region of India, in the east to the Indus River in the west. The rise of nationalism throughout

British-controlled India in the late 19th century resulted in mounting animosity between the

Hindu and Muslim communities. In 1885, the All-India National Congress was founded with

Indian and British membership. Muslims seeking an organization of their own founded the All-

India Muslim League in 1906. Although both the League and the Congress supported the goal of

Indian self-government within the British Empire, the two parties were unable to agree on a way

to ensure the protection of Muslim political, social, and economic rights. The subsequent history

of the nationalist movement was characterized by periods of Hindu-Muslim cooperation, as well

as by communal antagonism. The idea of a separate Muslim state gained increasing popularity

among Indian Muslims after 1936, when the Muslim League suffered a decisive defeat in the

first elections under India's 1935 constitution. In 1940, the Muslim League called for an

independent state in regions where Muslims were in the majority. Campaigning on that

platform in provincial elections in 1946, the League won the majority of the Muslim seats

contested in Bengal. Widespread communal violence followed, especially in Calcutta. When

British India was partitioned and the independent dominions of India and Pakistan were created

in 1947, the region of Bengal was divided along religious lines. The predominantly Muslim

eastern half was designated East Pakistan--and made part of the newly independent Pakistan--

while the predominantly Hindu western part became the Indian state of West Bengal. Pakistan's

history from 1947 to 1971 was marked by political instability and economic difficulties.

Dominion status was rejected in 1956 in favor of an "Islamic republic within the

Commonwealth." Attempts at civilian political rule failed, and the government imposed martial

law between 1958 and 1962, and again between 1969 and 1971. Almost from the advent of

independent Pakistan in 1947, frictions developed between East and West Pakistan, which were

separated by more than 1,000 miles of Indian territory. East Pakistanis felt exploited by the

West Pakistan-dominated central government. Linguistic, cultural, and ethnic differences also

contributed to the estrangement of East from West Pakistan. Bengalis strongly resisted attempts

to impose Urdu as the sole official language of Pakistan. Responding to these grievances, Sheikh

Mujibur Rahman in 1948 formed a students' organization called the Chhatra League. In 1949,

Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani and some other Bengali leaders formed the East Pakistan

Awami Muslim League (AL), a party designed mainly to promote Bengali interests. This party

dropped the word Muslim from its name in 1955 and came to be known as Awami League.

Mujib became president of the Awami League in 1966 and emerged as leader of the Bengali

autonomy movement. In 1966, he was arrested for his political activities.

After the Awami League won almost all the East Pakistan seats of the Pakistan national assembly

in 1970-71 elections, West Pakistan opened talks with the East on constitutional questions

about the division of power between the central government and the provinces, as well as the

formation of a national government headed by the Awami League. The talks proved

unsuccessful, however, and on March 1, 1971, Pakistani President Yahya Khan indefinitely

postponed the pending national assembly session, precipitating massive civil disobedience in

East Pakistan. Mujib was arrested again; his party was banned, and most of his aides fled to

India and organized a provisional government. On March 26, 1971, following a bloody

crackdown by the Pakistan Army, Bengali nationalists declared an independent People's

Republic of Bangladesh. As fighting grew between the army and the Bengali mukti bahini

("freedom fighters"), an estimated 10 million Bengalis, mainly Hindus, sought refuge in the

Indian states of Assam and West Bengal. On April 17, 1971, a provisional government was

formed in Meherpur district in western Bangladesh bordering India with Sheikh Mujibur

Rahman, who was in prison in Pakistan, as President, Syed Nazrul Islam as Acting President, and

Tajuddin Ahmed as Prime Minister.

The crisis in East Pakistan produced new strains in Pakistan's troubled relations with India. The

two nations had fought a war in 1965, mainly in the west, but the refugee pressure in India in

the fall of 1971 produced new tensions in the east. Indian sympathies lay with East Pakistan, and

in November, India intervened on the side of the Bangladeshis. On December 16, 1971, Pakistani

forces surrendered, and Bangladesh--meaning "Bengal country"--was born; the new country

became a parliamentary democracy under a 1972 constitution.The first government of the new

nation of Bangladesh was formed in Dhaka with Justice Abu Sayeed Choudhury as President, and

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ("Mujib")--who was released from Pakistani prison in early 1972--as

Prime Minister.

Challenges project management in Bangladesh

Positive factor

1. Growing economy, scope for fresh and new projects, need for infrastructural facilities.

2. Availability of resources.

3. Abundance of manpower.

4. Urge for development.

5. Adaptability of manpower vis-à-vis technologies.

Negative Factors

1. Poor and very inadequate technical bases.

2. Inadequate of research and trained manpower.

3. Serious brain drain.

4. Lack and inadequacy of infra-structural facilities.

5. Corruption (resource utilization is only 40% effectively).

6. Very poor project planning.

7. Data bank lacking and highly inaccurate.

8. Dearth of experienced and hardworking and honest entrepreneurs.

9. Poor general economic condition and low per capital income.

10. Size of market and buying capacities.

11. Uncongenial legal framework.

12. Absence of good governance.

13. Unfriendly administrative machinery.

14. Irrational fiscal policy.

15. Weak and ineffective capital market.

16. Inefficient monitoring of banking structure and banking policy.

17. Default culture.

18. Absence of business ethics.

19. Lack of political will.

20. High political risk including instability.

21. Precarious law and order situation.

22. Bangladesh is classified as “high risk” country.

23. Low saving – GDP ratio.

24. Majority of population lives below poverty level.

25. Low literacy rate and of civic sense, patriotism, and sense of belongingness.

26. Unhealthy distribution of income and concentration of most of the wealth of the country in

the hand of several thousands.

27. Absence of social values and social justice with its serious erosion.

28. Serious exploitation of society and country by educated people.

29. Inadequate of physical resources.

30. Growth of population.

31. Wrong conception about religion and week socio-cultural institution, of which family is the

weakest.

32. Cumbersome custom formalities.

33. Very low contribution of service sector.

34. Imbalance between direct and indirect tax structure.

35. Very loose boarder and smuggling.

36. Very wide trade gap that is unfavorable balance of trade and balance of payment position

(Export

earning is about 40% import bills).

37. Ineffective balance of growth of agricultural and industrial sectors.

38. Initial industrial base was planned on the basis of different geographical dispersion and

market.

39. Inadequacy of basic, heavy and mother industries.

40. Irregular flow of foreign funds.

41. Lack of interdepartmental, inter ministerial coordination and ineffective sectoral adjustment.

42. High frequency of natural calamities and disaster.

43. Serious impacts of ozone unbalancing, warming up of atmosphere, increase of sea level,

probable flood and erosion of landscape.

44. Serious problem of time and cost overruns of project implementation.

45. Lack of motivation in implementation of project with serious snags.

46. Political unrest impedes project implementation and absence of network analysis or project

scheduling is hardly pursued.

47. Impacts of open market economy and formation of regional economic blocs.

48. Ineffective and corrupted banking structure.

49. High degree of propensity to incur unproductive expenses out of project funds both in public

and private sectors.

50. Trading mentality of entrepreneurs, lack of business farsightedness resulting into interest

towards painstaking industrial projects.

51. High degree of irresponsibility, callousness and indifference on the part of project

managers

of public sector project.

Bangladesh : Environmental Issues

Environmental degradation and depletion of natural resources are often observed in Bangladesh

due to poverty, over-population and lack of awareness on the subject. It is manifested by

deforestation, destruction of wetlands, depletion of soil nutrients, etc. Natural calamities like

floods, cyclones and tidal-bores also result in severe socio-economic and environmental

damage. Waterborne diseases such as cholera are a serious threat to public health in

Bangladesh. Until the 1970s, many of Bangladesh's people became sick from drinking polluted

water drawn from surface rivers. Aid agencies such as the United Nations Children's Fund

(UNICEF) built shallow wells throughout the country to help provide a safe source of drinking

water to Bangladesh's poor. In the 1990s, however, it was discovered that many of these wells

were contaminated by arsenic, a poison that occurs naturally in Bangladesh's alluvial soils. The

World Bank estimates that 25 percent of the country's 4 million wells may be contaminated by

arsenic. In 1998 the World Bank granted Bangladesh a $32.4 million credit to identify

contaminated wells and develop alternative sources of safe drinking water.In recent years, the

government has taken some important steps towards protection of the environment,

environmentally sound use of natural resources and pollution control, Adoption of National

Environment Policy and formulation of National Conservation Strategy and the National

Environment Management Action Plan are some of the measures undertaken by the

government to integrate environment with development in a policy framework. To take prompt

legal action against environmental pollution, the government has recently set up Environment

courts. The Environment Conservation Rules 1997 has also been passed by the Parliament. The

Department of Environment is taking measures to carry out surveys on identification and control

of polluting industries, river pollution and automobile pollution.

Population and food challenge of Bangladesh in the 21st century

Rice is the staple food of about 135 million people of Bangladesh. It provides nearly 48%

of rural employment, about two-third of total calorie supply and about one-half of the

total protein intakes of an average person in the country. Rice sector contributes one-half

of the agricultural GDP and one-sixth of the national income in Bangladesh. Almost all

of the 13 million farm families of the country grow rice. Rice is grown on about 10.5

million hectares which has remained almost stable over the past three decades. About

75% of the total cropped area and over 80% of the total irrigated area is planted to rice.

Thus, rice plays a vital role in the livelihood of the people of Bangladesh. Total rice

production in Bangladesh was about 10.59 million tons in the year 1971 when the

country’s population was only about 70.88 millions. However, the country is now

producing about 25.0 million tons to feed her 135 million people. This indicates that the

growth of rice production was much faster than the growth of population. This increased

rice production has been possible largely due to the adoption of modern rice varieties on

around 66% of the rice land which contributes to about 73% of the country’s total rice

production. However, there is no reason to be complacent. The population of Bangladesh

is still growing by two million every year and may increase by another 30 millions over

the next 20 years. Thus, Bangladesh will require about 27.26 million tons of rice for the

year 2020. During this time total rice area will also shrink to 10.28 million hectares. Rice

yield therefore, needs to be increased from the present 2.74 to 3.74 t/ha.

To combat the future situation we will need to consider:

Replacement of local varieties by modern varieties in T. aman season where possible.

Limited increase in modern variety boro area.

Replacement of the present varieties by superior inbred, hybrid and super high yielding

varieties.

Increment of irrigation areas in both boro and T. aman season.

Application of superior resource management technologies.

The use of quality seeds.

Mechanization of rice cultivation particularly minimization of post harvest losses.

Economic challenge of agriculture in Bangladesh

Agriculture in Bangladesh was once mainly subsistence based. This is no longer true.

Recent estimates suggest that a proportion of farm produce is marketed (Table 1). While

post-harvest distress sales still exist, recent farm level studies indicate that such incidents

are only marginal in explaining the extent to which is currently practiced.

Table 1: Proportions of Agricultural Output Marketed by Farm Households,

(Household Expenditure Survey)

Crop Percentage

Marketed

Crop Percentage

Marketed

Paddy 38.7 Wheat 51.3

Jute 84.1 Mustard 62.9

Sesame 76.3 Pulses 50.3

Potato 60.4 Minor cereals 76.8

Egg Plant (Brinjal) 64.3 Arum 61.6

Pumpkin 35.2 Other vegetables 41.5

Source: Mahmud, SH Rahman and S Zohir, Agricultural Growth through Crop Diversification in

Bangladesh, IFPRI_BIDS Agricultural Diversification Study

There are many types of farm produce, and most require a minimum of sorting or

processing prior to home consumption or marketing. However, the degree of processing

involved varies across commodity groups and by the target markets.

Fruit and Vegetables

Merchandising of Fresh Fruits, Vegetables and Potatoes

Most of the local production of vegetables and fruits is directed to the domestic market.

Only in the 1980s the prospects of developing export markets emerged. Most of the

country’s exports are to the United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates and targeted to

Bangladeshis residing in these countries. Domestically, the urban markets are the main

consumers. Production especially that of fruits, was also adversely affected by the floods.

Improved financial services are necessary to facilitate increased export of agricultural

produce from Bangladesh. In cases of both domestic and export marketing, produce is

generally packed at the farm level in bamboo baskets of 10-30 kg each or in jute bags of

30-50 kg. Lack of modern marketing infrastructure, 20-40 percent of harvested produce

often does not reach the consumers. Water transport is primary means of carrying the

produce to urban markets. However, with development of road transportation system,

more and more of the produce are being transported by trucks and vans. In case of

exports, produce is delivered to the exporters’ “warehouse” or “packing house”, which in

many cases is a small room in a housing unit. Under the supervision of exporter’s agents,

the produces are sorted, graded and packed. These fresh vegetables and fruits are

exported by air cargo. Bangladesh are generally considered to be self-sufficient in potato

production. However, the production instability induced by unexpected weather changes

causes periodical scarcity and surplus. This alters trade potentials. Some potato exports

were recorded in second half of the 1980s; however, prospects of potato production in the

near future are expected to depend exclusively on the domestic market. The Agrobased

Industries and Technology Development Project (ATDP) of the Ministry of Agriculture

motivated entrepreneurs to export potato on a commercial basis. In 1999, 126,000 kg of

potatoes were exported to Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia on a commercial basis. In

2000 another 156,000 kg of potatoes were exported to Singapore.

Table: Export of Vegetables and Fruits

Year Quantity exported (MT)

1981-82 920

1984-85 2,590

1989-90 5,330

1994-95 8,270

1998-99 13,120

Source: Export Promotion Bureau

From the graphical presentation we see that, exported quantity of vegetables and fruits

are increasing day by day.

Among prospective horticultural products,

cut flowers (rajani gandha) and mushrooms, two non-traditional items, need special

mentioning. The market for cut flowers is growing rapidly in urban areas, and this has

induced large-scale production of cut flowers in areas around Dhaka. Scientific

mushroom production in Bangladesh started in the late 1970s after the arrival of the

volunteers from Japan Overseas Co-operative Volunteers. Commercial production of

spawn packets of oyster mushroom was started from 1989. Over the time, production had

increased from one MT in 1989/90 to five MT in 1991/92. There is active interest among

local industrialists in commercially produced mushrooms with a view to processing

mushrooms for export. Mushrooms do not form part of the regular diet. Currently,

mushrooms produced on farms are locally marketed, mostly in hotels housing foreigners,

Chinese restaurants, and markets in close vicinity to the residence of foreigners.

Declining Size of Farm

In agriculture we expect that the number of farm holdings will be falling at the rate of about one

per cent a year against the present farm households of 57% to total rural holdings (BBS, 2009).

At the same time their average size of farm will also decline from the existing size of around 1.20

acres (BBS, 2005) with the transfer of farm land to non-agriculture. It is afraid that it will come

down to below one acre by 2020 which is quite small for survival of a family and to continue his

farming occupation. This is definitely a serious concern for the landless and marginal farmers

besides ensuring national food security to increasing population which is at present a top

priority to the government of Bangladesh. This demands special policy attention to the threat,

created by faster rate of conversion of farm land to non-agriculture of about one per cent of

land a year (Quasem 2007).

Dominance of Small Size Farms and Their Weak Financial

Capacity

In Bangladesh about 90% of the farm households are small (upto 2.5 acres) that may rise to 95%

in the next two decades cultivating at least half of the country’s land. Of these farmers, about

half will be landless (upto 0.5 acre). Many of them are tenants. Overwhelming proportion of

these small and marginal farmer groups do not have investible surplus for adoption of modern

technologies towards higher productivity, the principal means of increasing agricultural

production. Substantial number of small farmers is not literate and cannot be trained easily.

Special attention is thus, due to their skill development where the Department of Agriculture

Extension (DAE) must strengthen its efforts.

Degradation of Land Quality

It may be noted that overtime total farm area in the country will be declining due to new

housing, urbanization and infrastructure building. In addition to such reduction of farm area,

quality of soil is apprehended to be deteriorating because of intensive cropping, imbalanced use

of chemical fertilizers. Already there is high degree of depletion of organic matter in soil

resulting in reduced fertility and consequently low productivity. Along with such deteriorating

situation, the coastal belt covering over 10% of the country’s land has been experiencing

increasing intensity of Stalinization. Such intensity will be rising fast in future due to sea level

rise making the whole coastal belt and its adjoining areas more vulnerable; and therefore,

agricultural production will fall, if no preventive measures are adopted well ahead of time.

Immediate attention is due to devise appropriate action programmes to combat the adverse

consequences of climate change on farming and people’s level of living.

Pollution of River Water

It is also reported that due to effluent discharges by the industries, river water in many areas is

already polluted and its intensity will be rising in future causing damages to fish habitats.

Pollution of sea water in the coast is also evident and its area is expanding and the sea fish

habitats are being damaged. Fishermen therefore, are being compelled to go for deep sea

fishing which is endangering their lives. An in-depth survey on fish reserves in the sea-coast is

essential to the maintenance of sustainable stock of fishes.

Higher Costs of Production

The demand for higher agricultural production to feed the increasing population (1.3% per year)

from the reduced farm area and its degraded land at higher cost of irrigation, increasing salinity

and pollution of river water is a serious cause of concern to Bangladesh. Besides, there are also a

high degree of threats from natural disasters like cyclones, floods and drought due to climate

change. We therefore, need to prepare ourselves to face such adverse consequences in the

immediate future and accordingly the details of precautionary measures and development

practices needed for future agriculture are to be chalked out.

Inadequate Institutional Supports

In all researches of Agricultural Economics maximum attention needs to be paid to the

methodologies to be followed and their analytical vigor, so that the conclusions derived become

correct although there may remain some questions of debates. The studies related to policy

issues should be broad-based and in-depth one. There the research budget should be higher but

in most cases the institutes cannot afford and thus, external supports are sought. Such supports

being limited sponsors’ views on the TORs of the studies generally prevail. The researchers

however, need to remain careful to the proposed TORs and modify them if necessary. The, to

the national interest and academic outputs. Researchers in Bangladesh being low-paid

professionals are often interested in higher-salaried consultancy jobs and thus, cannot devote to

full-time professional research, as evidenced in case of some specialists in Agricultural

Economics. Such specialists’ services will be scarce in future with the private sector participation

in research. To make their services available to some critical economic issues special public

policies are needed remembering that consultants’ reports are not always useful.

Another constraint to expertise services for research undertakings is inadequacy in interaction

facilities particularly with the specialists working in developed nations. It is alleged that

Agricultural Economists sometimes cannot join the seminars and discussion meetings held in

USA, UK, Australia and in European countries due to lack of fund. It is also unfortunate to report

that the libraries of the institutes are also not equipped with current journals, research

monographs, books, articles etc. and thus, they are deprived of newly generated information

and knowledge. Available internet services to link the entire NARS system with international

library database to that end are considered to be quite useful (BARC, 2000). Such facilities

should be expanded to cope with the scientific achievements outside the country besides

providing sufficient amount of fund for visits abroad. Some of the Agricultural Economists who

have been working with the NARS institutes for quite sometime are reportedly not fully satisfied

with the prevailing working environment and the service facilities provided to them. Their

expertise seems to be under-utilized. Under the circumstances specialists in Agricultural

Economics may feel deprived and try to leave the institutes which should be discouraged as

human resource build-up is time-consuming and very expensive and perhaps may not be even

possible in future as private universities and firms are employing them at higher salaries.

Bad Effects Of Corruption In Bangladesh Of all the issues currently affecting Bangladesh, the most talked about, most contentious, and

perhaps most important is the endemic, institutional corruption in the country, and how to get

rid of it. I could link to a hundred blog-postings, op/eds and articles on corruption, but they tend

to repeat themselves, and I fear – given the very nature of corruption as a concept – that people

will be writing many more thousands of essays on corruption in Bangladesh long after I leave the

country. The essential point is that Bangladesh over the last five years has been shown to be the

most corrupt country in the world. Causes of this corruption can be attributed to base human

greed, exacerbated by the economic, social and political conditions of the country over the last

thirty years that have allowed human greed to flourish unchecked. And of course the worst

aspect of corruption is that it reproduces and replicates; the worse the corruption is, the greater

the economic, social and political problems become, and the more attractive corruption practice

is as a relief – for those able to take advantage. And so this downward spiral has continued

throughout the life of Bangladesh, made worse by the false democratic legitimisation of the last

15 years. And the result is happening now, with a State of Emergency, a military/technocratic

interim administration running the country, no sign of elections on the horizon, and essential

political freedoms banned. The reformed Anti-Corruption Commission has just issued a list of 50

high profile politicians, who have to go to the ACC in person and declare their suspiciously

obtained property, or else it will be confiscated. They’ve had their fun, and now they and the

rest of the country are paying the price. How the corruption affects me personally, and the

majority of the country, is the power supply. The electricity supply in Bangladesh at the moment

is just awful. Currently, Bangladesh can only meet about 60% of demand for electricity, so the

supply is rationed around the country, one hour here, one hour there, maybe two hours… so no

matter how hard anybody, in any sector tries to improve their own life or the lives of the people

around them, you can only do so much because anything that relies on using electricity, you just

can’t rely on. This is because billions of taka has been looted out of the power industry over the

last decade. Existing power plants haven’t been maintained properly, new ones haven’t been

built, and demand has spiralled as urban development has rocketed unchecked and often

illegally. The cost to the country is staggering. In my office, for example, we only have one

computer anyway between four people, and our work ethic could hardly be described as

Japanese Beaver. But when the power’s off, which is about 3-4 hours a day, almost nothing can

get done, so we effectively waste 12-16 man hours a day because of the power. Over our six day

week that’s around 70 hours, which is the equivalent of two week’s full time work for one British

civil servant, for example. If we were a business, we would effectively have to fire a member of

staff to keep costs down. And that’s just our small NGO. I waste about an hour a day sitting

around waiting for internet connections to be reset because of the power, and this blog posting

itself has taken me two attempts and about an hour to do, whereas in the UK it would be five

minutes. And this is during the winter. In about two months, when the humidity hits 80-90% and

the temperature climbs above thirty, it’s very hard to concentrate and get anything effectively

done. In October when I had Bangla classes in Dhaka, we were next to a construction site and

had the farcical situation of either sweating and fidgeting away in peace and quiet, or the power

would come on, you’d have five minutes of comfort and then over the road a pneumatic drill

would start and you wouldn’t be able to concentrate again. The very worst aspect of the power

shortages though, is that it has the greatest and most negative affects on the poor. The rich

have generators in their homes, big businesses have generators in their offices (including the

VSO Bangladesh office) so no risk of losing your work when your computer goes off four times a

day. Large shopping malls are being constructed all over Dhaka, and Sylhet, with huge demands

on the power supply, just so the middle-classes and rich can buy consumer items 12 hours a day,

whereas people in the villages have their routines governed by daylight. The interim

administration has just issued an edict stating that these malls can no longer stay open after

7pm, which is certainly an advantage of not being beholden to electoral politics. But there is no

better illustration, to me, of the debilitating affects of corruption on a country than the power

industry in Bangladesh. It so greatly enforces and maintains inequalities, acting as a barrier to

economic and social development, and those responsible, who can afford generators for their

big homes with their stolen money, just won’t see any of the negative effects of their theft while

enjoying the benefits. I think of this every time I sit in my house in the evenings in the dark, or

lose something I’d spent an hour working on, and it’s terrible. It’s a great paradox that almost

every single person I’ve encountered here in Bangladesh has been incredibly kind, generous and

welcoming to me, and the trend is that the less they can offer, the more they give. Whereas the

people who have everything just take take take, and make the country harsh and inhospitable

for nearly everyone. I’m no socialist, but this situation really does ram some realities home.

Climate Change

It is well recognized that Bangladesh is going to be the worst victim of climate change due to

possibility of (i) submersion of over 10% of its land, (ii) salinity rise in the coastal belt and its

expansion to the adjoining areas, (iii) higher frequency of natural hazards e.g. cyclones, floods,

drought etc. The research institutes may undertake a study to estimate the amount of damages

apprehended in the next decades and their effects on household income, consumptions and

poverty situation in the possible affected areas. It should also suggest measures to combat such

adverse consequences; may be, in terms of infrastructures to be built, the level of interventions

by the government, the private sector involvement required to rehabilitate them, and training

to be offered to the affected residents for their livelihood improvement. It is understood that

the country’s research institutes are already in touch with different national and international

organizations, and trying to recommend suitable preventive as well as remedial measures during

and after the calamities. To combat with likely adverse effects of climate change the research

institutes and other relevant organizations should prepare themselves and the government may

provide adequate resources to them. Agricultural Economists may also design a separate

research project to this end.

Research Facilities to be Created and Expanded

It is already recognized that overtime the research needs will be expanding due to

intensification of disasters and deteriorating situation in land and water at higher levels of

technology adoptions and agricultural development. Designing appropriate technological

solutions will also be both difficult and costlier in future. The existing laboratories need to be

regularly modernized and equipped for advance research. We therefore, need more dedicated

and well qualified scientists. We unfortunately lost many of our qualified researchers and such

exodus in future may jeopardize the whole research system if the present service provisions

remain unchanged. It is already known that some of the research institutes like BFRI, BFI , BTRI

do not have any Economist at present and thus, no socio-economic studies are being

undertaken in their executed research projects. The absence of Agricultural Economics Division

will aggravate the technological research in future due to global market competition, already

recorded in production inputs, food products and consumers’ services.

Poverty in Bangladesh

Poverty in Bangladesh briefing

updated August 2010

There are no up to date objective poverty statistics available for Bangladesh. A Household

Income and Expenditure Survey currently in progress will not be completed until 2011.

The most recent survey in 2005 found 40% of the population

to be below the national poverty line, measured as the cost

of very basic food and essential needs. This compares with

59% in 1991, the baseline year for the Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs) in Bangladesh.

Prospects for achieving the MDG poverty target of 29% by

2015 have been set back significantly by interim events. In

addition to external shocks relating to food prices and

economic recession, Bangladesh has suffered a sequence of

natural disasters, notably Cyclone Sidr in 2007.

Signing a white band for poverty

reduction in Bangladesh ©

Millennium Campaign

The Centre for Policy Dialogue, a Dhaka think-tank, has estimated that the increase in food

prices in 2007/08 alone pushed 12 million people below the poverty line, over 8% of the

population. It seems likely that up to 80 million people in Bangladesh may experience the

hardship of poverty, more than any other country apart from India and possibly China. The

profile of poverty is uneven, with widening gaps between the urban and rural economies. The

most severe poverty is found in the southern coastal belt and in areas most distant from the

cities, such as the Chittagong Hill Tracts in the southeast, and the northern monga regions prone

to seasonal food shortages. Government strategies for poverty reduction have placed

disproportionate faith in macro-economic development. Handicapped by poor standards of

governance and dysfunctional politics, promises of “pro-poor” growth have dissolved into

greater divisions between rich and poor. The Gini measure of inequality in Bangladesh has risen

consistently since 1990. Achieving the MDG target will therefore require unprecedented resolve

for redistribution. Since 2007, a range of food-for-work and cash transfers targeting the poorest

households have been activated in response to events. The government has been complimented

for subsequently committing higher budgets to these schemes.

Non-Profit Marketing- Problems and Future Challenges

Marketing is being blamed for creating materialism in society and also for creating unnecessary

demand for Products and Services, which the customer would not have asked for. It is because

of marketing that the suppressed desires of the materialistic world take over the moral man and

loads into being a hedonist. But people also feel that marketing is responsible for what has

happened to the world over the years and what will happen in the future. People belonging to

their school of thought are of the opinion that marketing creates surplus in the form of profit

and profit making organization in turn, spend their returns on designing and development

product and services, which enhanced the standard of living of people and deliver desired value

to consumers. The latter school is guided by Adam Smith’s principles of ‘Invisible Hand: Both

the schools of thought try to rationalize the existence of marketing as an economic process,

either to create and distribute value or to deliver value to consumers. The scope of business

was confined to economic transactions between the producer and marketers. Though each of

them part of the social Institutions and operated under social framework and structure, it was

realized very late that marketing can also be used to address social issues. In a traditional sense,

marketing is broadly defined as process of planning and executing the conception, pricing,

promotion and distribution of Ideas products and services to create exchanges that satisfy

individual and organizational goals. A broader definition of marketing delved into the process of

social exchange in which both producers and marketers looked into the effects of product

conception development, design, distribution and delivery of products from social point of

view. Marketers also started viewing marketing tools and strategy as vehicles for application in

the context of non-business enterprises like government, public sector and charities. Here

onwards marketing was looked as a change vehicle and potent weapon for bringing desired

effects on responsible corporate social behavior use of marketing tools in the social context

started in the middle of the last century when organization with and without profit motives

started mass campaigns for a cause or an idea. A successful social information campaign should

have a high level of monopoly so that there should not be any contradicting messages to the

objective of the campaign. However, many of the social campaigns in a free society have

complementary or alternate campaign, which do not allow them to have certain level of

monopoly. Let us take an example of an anti-smoking campaign. Though the message, “smoking

causes cancer” is evident everywhere and firms marketing tobacco-related products mention

this line over their products, but there are campaigns on cigarettes and liquor that promote

lifestyle patterns. Mass and information-oriented campaigns depend on the favorable public

attitude. Pre-existing attitudes are easier to reinforce than to change.

Problem of Professional Deficiency

Professional excellence will help in bringing the derailed systems back on its track. Of late most

of the non-profit organizations face the problem of managerial deficiency. Financial resources

are inadequate and whatever is generated is being mismanaged and misused. The traditionally

managed units are facing strategically and tactical problems. They are controlled and

dominated by social climbers. Bureaucrats dominate the management and control processes

with ulterior motives and mission. Virtually a majority of them are at a collapsing stage needing

a special care of the professionals. The world class professionals may contribute significantly to

the development processes and the non-profit organizations may witness qualitative

improvements.

Infrastructural constraints

The non-profit organizations have been facing the problem of infrastructural constraints. Since

they are not making profits, the infrastructural facilities are minimal. The government or

infrastructural industries do not extend to them adequate support. Of late, infrastructural

facilities have been playing a lead role in improving the quality of services but due to inadequacy

of infrastructure, they find it difficult to generate funds. This naturally has adversely affected the

quality of their services and aggravating the image problem. They are unable to offer even key

core services.

Lack of dedicated and committed people

A majority of the non-profit organizations are facing the problem of inadequacy of quality

people when they are not professionally sound, how we can expect from them personal

commitment and value orientation. The development is a natural phenomenon. Education and

training facilities should be of world class otherwise there can be no question of making

available to the various sectors quality people without which all out efforts prove to be the

effective. An organization dominated by non-performers can’t survive. The NPOs, of course, do

not realize the instrumentality of quality people in the process of qualitative or quantitative

transformation.

Increasing domination of social climbers

It is unfortunate that social climbers are dominating the management and control of a majority

of the non-profit organizations. If professionals replace social climbers the present and future of

an organization can be positive. Degeneration in the working of political organizations has led to

this sorry state. The mafias, antisocial elements, criminals have started handling the political

organizations who are responsible for formulating sound policies. The policy and strategic

decisions made by the anti-social elements have thrown the organizations in the reverse gear.

Political parties, non-government organizations, trade unions, educational institutions and the

police department have failed in the discharge of their duties since they are dominated by the

vested interests like social climbers and mafias.

Increasing insensitivity among masses

The most significant reason aggravating the magnitude of the problem is increasing in sensitivity

among different segments of the society. Nobody considers it significant to perceive the

problems correctly. All of us find it difficult to confront the mafias and anti-social elements. So,

they are dominating a majority of the organizations. How we can forecast the future of non-

profit organizations. Non-profit organization can contribute substantially to the process of

social welfare, if masses are sensitive to the issues as otherwise all the development processes

will receive only Luke-warm or even negative response. Mass-participation is an effective

prescription to resolve the problems of the society.

Large-scale misuse of funds

Willingly or unwillingly, we have to accept that a majority of the non-profit organizations are

involved in promoting misuse of funds. This is because they are dominated by the social

climbers. Fraudulent and unfair practices, unregulated, unproductive expenses are aggravating

the problem of financial crunch which is instrumental in the formation of a vicious circle. Since

they misuse funds, the donors and potential donors are reluctant to come forward with

donations. The mobilization of donors is now complicated and the most important reason is the

rampant misuse of funds by the Non-profit Organizations.

Decreasing contributions to the society

A number of non-profit organizations have not made any significant contributions to the

development process. The task of social transformation is their responsibility but they are not to

increase their contributions. This has made it difficult for them to get public recognition.

Contribution of an individual or an organization is closely related to their potentials and if they

are potentially bankrupt, we cannot expect anything concrete from them. This problem

indicates that the non-profit or non-business sector is facing numerous problems. We find

different types of NPOs and in the Indian context by and large most of them are sailing in the

same boat. In the coming years, the magnitude of problem is likely to aggregate because

nobody seems interested in resolving the issues. The non-profit organizations thus need an

effective prescription, based on a big push theory, in which aggressive marketing practices can

be effective. Since it is a social problem, social participation is a must. Mass-participation for

mass-welfare will be helpful in different ways.

Water problems in Bangladesh

Duration: 01:27

A report on the problems Bangladesh has with obtaining clean water. In the monsoon season up

to 20cm of rain can fall in a day, despite this Bangladesh still suffers from water shortages as a

lot of the water is unclean and not safe. Hand pumps or tube wells access the clean water stored

under the ground. This helps to stop the spread of disease.

Effect of unemployment problem :

The effects of rural-urban migration in Bangladesh are analyzed to identify a relationship

between migration and underdevelopment. Poverty, unemployment and natural hazards

appear to be the main reasons for the rural exodus. The preference for moving to a large

city is found to be determined by the urban bias in planning both by national and

international authorities, and by the public amenities and resources available in the urban

areas. An analysis of the levels and trends in urbanization reveals the notable role of

rural-urban migration in the rapid growth of the urban population.

Most migrants are young, unmarried males of working age. A case study of migrants in

Dhaka City illustrates the reasons for and consequences of migration. It is concluded that

rural-urban migration is mainly a survival strategy of the rural poor.

Inefficiency of Bureaucracy

Bureaucracy is inevitable in any society or state, an inseparable part of an organized society. But

the bureaucracy of Bangladesh is not efficient in management and administration. The capacity

of policy implementation of our bureaucracy is very poor. Bureaucrats are not accountable and

transparent to the people. Lack of bureaucratic accountability can be attributedinter- alia to

bureaucratic corruption. But there is no effective mechanism to make them accountable and

transparent.

Political interference in administration

In our country administration is always to work and the influence of party in power. So, here

nepotism is widespread and administration is always unfair. The administration can not take any

free and fair decision. Sometimes, political influence breech factionalism in the administration

which in turn results in demoralization, utter negligence of work and often serious tension

among the bureaucrats. Ministers, especially those with greater political strength and influence

and initiative, tended to stress their overall supervisory role to dominate and direct those in

administration who versed under them, from secretaries downwards. In such situations the

ministers virtually inclined to act as executive heads of their ministries, though they did not have

to take the responsibilities either of the executive head or the principal accounting officer

responsibilities which still technically and substantially remained with the secretaries.

Nepotism

Nepotism is another curse of our politics and administration. The rules in our country pursue

nepotism. They give privilege and under advantage to their family members, kiths and kins on

public resources. So the mass people remain after regime. Improper and non-observance of

the rule of law In true and real sense the application of rule of law in Bangladesh follows a

course of selective and discretionary application. It is said that laws are there but there are

applied only in favor of privilege people or class. As a result justices suffer and denied to the

common people. And this environment affects out right the basic rights of the poor and the

social place elides although that is an important aspect of good governance.

Improper use of resources

The fund flow in Bangladesh is not smooth the local government, especially the union Parishad.

Beside, this fund is not utilized properly and very often diverted to other purposes. So, the

ordinary people can not get efforts, if any, of ensuring good governance.

INADEQUATE FUNDS

Almost all agricultural libraries in Bangladesh are facing financial constraints. Due to lack of

sound financial position of the libraries, they can not provide the required information to the

users. The escalating cost of the reading materials on one hand and huge cost of the

infrastructure on other have made the agricultural libraries to suffer from insufficient flow of

funds. The various information services that can be deployed in libraries are also dependent on

sound financial position of the libraries. The existing information services available in

agricultural libraries of Bangladesh are not adequate. To improve the existing condition of the

agricultural libraries effectively, it is necessary to design a networking proposal model for

agricultural libraries, situated in various places in the country.

LACK OF TRAINED MANPOWER

There are non-professional library personnel working in agricultural libraries of Bangladesh. As a

result, they can not provide proper services to the researchers and scientists. For this reason,

there should be a programme in BD-AGRINET for training of the library personnel so that it may

reduce the lack of trained manpower in agricultural libraries.

MARKET MONITORING

The army-led joint forces, Rab, BDR, police and civil administration will keep watch on markets

during Ramadan, so that the traders cannot make large profits by charging high prices for goods.

The decision was taken in a meeting of an inter-ministerial monitoring committee at the

commerce ministry yesterday. Chaired by Additional Secretary of the ministry Golam Mostakim,

the meeting reviewed the import, supply, stock and overall price situation of essentials. The

meeting urged TCB, BDR and Food Department to take all-out steps so that the supply of

essentials is not disrupted during Ramadan. It asked the state-run TCB (Trading Corporation of

Bangladesh) to complete the import of 3000 tonnes of pulses, 3000 tonnes of edible oil and 500

tonnes of onion before Ramadan. The meeting decided to make a request to the Fisheries and

Livestock Department and the Cooperatives Department to go on selling fish and enhance the

production and supply of Milk Vita products during the holy month. It also requested the

Agriculture Marketing and Department of Agriculture Extension to boost production of

cucumber, brinjal and green chilli for meeting its increased demand during the month. efforts.”

Rice yield to leap on less irrigation:

Bangladesh can produce seven crore tonnes of rice a year, more than double the present

production, by ensuring proper irrigation and use of fertiliser, and bringing cultivable fallow

lands under irrigation. Excessive irrigation for Boro cultivation and lack of it for Aman now

drastically reduce the yield of both. This is revealed in a study conducted by Bangladesh

Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC). The country now produces around three crore

tonnes of rice a year with Boro output 3.66 tonnes per hectare and that of Aman a little above

two tonnes. But Boro yield can be raised to six tonnes and Aman output to five tonnes a

hectare, the study said. The major factor behind the wide gap between present yield and

potential output of Boro is excessive irrigation, says M Eftekharul Alam, assistant chief engineer

of the BADC, who carried out the study for more than two decades. Explaining this, Eftekhar

said, “On an average our farmers use water 50 percent more than is needed for Boro cultivation.

Such excessive use of water allows fertiliser to go so deep in the soil that paddy plants cannot

collect nutrient from there. This waste of fertiliser reduces yield.” Quoting a report of the

International Rice Research Institute, he said irrigation efficiency in Bangladesh is the lowest in

the region. Cost of irrigation in Bangladesh is $117.60 per hectare compared to $25.58 in India,

$17.94 in Thailand and $17.98 in Vietnam. In Bangladesh, farmers traditionally do not irrigate

Aman field, even during panicle initiation and flowering, which decreases yield. Farmers now

have average knowledge on use of seeds and fertiliser but very poor knowledge on irrigation,

the study notes. “This situation should be changed by training farmers on farm irrigation

because the country’s success in food production has been possible due to irrigation during Boro

season,” says Eftekhar, now doing PhD on improvement of irrigation efficiency and productivity

at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). The country produced 311 lakh

tonnes of rice in 2007 compared to only 85 lakh tonnes in 1960. Boro contributed 70 percent of

this increased production, according to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics and Agriculture

Information Services. Boro cultivation now covers around 44 lakh hectares, Aman 58 lakh

hectares and Aus only 11 lakh hectares. Aus production was not considered in the study.

Average output of high yielding variety (HYV) and hybrid Boro now is 3.66 tonnes per hectare.

But output of HYV Boro can be raised to 4.0 to 7.5 tonnes a hectare and that of hybrid Boro to

more than 7.0 tonnes, the study said. And 10 lakh to 15 lakh hectares of land, which now remain

fallow for various reasons in greater Barisal, Sylhet and some other areas, particularly char

lands, can be brought under cultivation by using the water now wasted due to excessive

irrigation for Boro cultivation. Noting that Japan now produces more than six tonnes of rice a

hectare, Eftekhar said a little effort could make Bangladesh a rice-exporting country. Bangladesh

Agriculture University Professor Dr MA Sattar Mandol, who has made extensive studies on

irrigation, said there is much scope to increase irrigation efficiency in Bangladesh. “There is

around 1.5 tonnes to 2.0 tonnes of yield gap (gap between present and potential output) per

hectare. It is possible to meet this gap through efficient irrigation, use of better seeds and

balanced application of fertiliser.” He however said, “It is not so easy to bring fallow land under

cultivation. It needs special

Trade liberalisation induces food price hike, WB admits

Khawaza Main Uddin

Bangladesh, Monday, October 22, 2007

Trade liberalisation that eventually has resulted in skyrocketing of food prices afflicts the rural

population of Bangladesh, admits the World Bank in its World Development Report 2008:

Agriculture for Development. The report released by the bank on Friday also says that the trend

of shrinking the sizes of farms in economies, such as Bangladesh, which still heavily rely on

agriculture, is another major cause of rural poverty, and such a reality can generate further

social tensions, leading to civil conflicts. ‘Trade liberalisation that raises the price of food hurts

net buyers (the largest group of rural poor in countries like Bolivia and Bangladesh) and benefits

net sellers (the largest group of rural poor in Cambodia and Vietnam),’ reads the report. The

report of the multilateral lending agency, which prescribed the process of trade liberalisation in

the 1990s, also claims that a liberal trade policy, inducing massive imports of rice by hundreds of

small traders during the 1998 floods, helped the government stabilise prices without building up

any large stock. Quoting a Bangladesh study, the WB report asserts that although the ‘average

landless poor household loses from an increase in rice prices in the short run’ but it ‘gains in the

long run as wages rise over time’. The report, forecasting a further increase in food prices on the

international market, expressed ‘particular concern’ for the food-importing developing

countries, ‘Because many of the poorest countries spend a large part of their incomes on cereal

imports’. More than 50 per cent of the poor in Bangladesh, according to the report, comprise

the rural landless households and they spend 27 per cent of their total budget for buying rice,

the nation’s staple food. And so, it says, ‘Poor Bangladeshis are the most vulnerable to increases

in rice prices.’ Only 8 per cent of the country’s poor are found to be net sellers of food. ‘So the

aggregate welfare effect of a change in rice prices is dominated by its effect on net buyers.’ Also,

the number of farms in Bangladesh has doubled over the past 20 years, increasing the number

of farms smaller than 0.2 hectares in size proportionately. ‘Continuing demographic pressures

imply rapidly declining farm sizes, becoming so minute that they can compromise survival if off-

farm income opportunities are not available,’ the report cautions. It also points out that ‘a large

share of rural households… does not have any access to land’. The Washington-based lending

agency, however, attributed what it termed the substantial reductions in rural poverty in

Bangladesh to earnings form rising farm and non-farm activities and lower rice prices thanks to

use of new technologies, besides manpower export which has also benefited the rural as well as

the national economy. The report has triggered the question whether a densely populated Asian

country like Bangladesh, with its labour-intensive small-scale farming, would be able to produce

cereals and other staple foods efficiently in its farms that generally tiny in size, especially if rural

wages rise. In South Asia, the report predicts, the decline in farm size will continue because the

rural population has been growing by 1.5 per cent a year. As an indicator of poverty, the report

mentions that Bangladesh, India, and Nepal occupy three of the top four positions in the global

ranking of underweight children. The World Development Report also expresses concern for the

developing countries due to proliferation and stringency of food safety and health measures

being adopted in export markets. ‘Many fear that the emerging standards will be discriminatory

and protectionist,’ it observes. The document underlines the need for increasing the

productivity of agricultural labour through consolidation and mechanisation of farms to bypass

the widening gap between rural and urban wages in many Asian countries. Millions of workers

employed in rural areas are said to be trapped in low-earning jobs in Bangladesh, where around

one million people join the rural workforce every year. The WB report mentions that non-farm

rural employment increased at the rate of 0.7 per cent and farm employment at 0.1 per cent a

year during the 1990s. Delineating a strong record of agriculture in development, the report

posts an estimate that the contribution of agriculture to the growth in gross domestic product

was at least twice as effective in reducing poverty as the GDP growth in non-agricultural sectors.

The report calls upon the policymakers of countries facing severe resource constrains to attach a

balanced priority to various sectors and give due attention to agriculture, especially to

increasing investment in the sector. The report correlates agricultural development with

achievement of the UN Millennium Development Goals of halving extreme poverty and hunger

by 2015. It acknowledges that, despite convincing successes, agriculture has not been used to its

full potential in many countries because of anti-agriculture policy biases and underinvestment,

often compounded by mis-investment and donors’ neglect, at the cost of severe human

sufferings. ‘A dynamic “agriculture for development” agenda can benefit the estimated 900

million rural people in the developing world most of whom are engaged in agriculture and who

live on less than $1 a day,’ the World Bank Group president, Robert B Zoellick, told the launching

ceremony of the report in Washington on Friday. ‘We need to give agriculture more prominence

across the board. At the global level, countries must deliver on vital reforms, such as cutting

distorting subsidies and opening up markets, while the civil society groups, especially the

farmers’ organisations, need more say in setting the agricultural agenda,’ Zoelink maintained.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN BANGLADESH

Bangladesh has a relatively long experience in the use of computers - the first "second

generation" computer was installed in 1964 at Dhaka and very soon some of the large banks and

industrial concerns started using computers, mainly for accounting and payroll applications. The

utility companies (e.g. gas, electricity) also started using the bureau facilities of these

installations for their customer billing. Unfortunately, the financial crisis that the country faced

immediately after its independence in 1971 did not permit the sustenance of this early lead and

lack of maintenance forced the closure of most of these installations. Although the possibility of

export of data entry services and software from Bangladesh has been discussed for over a

decade, only a few companies were successful in getting some work from outside. In June 1997,

the Government of Bangladesh appointed a Committee (with the author of this article as its

Convenor) to look into the problems and prospects of export of software from Bangladesh. The

Committee submitted its report in September, 1997. It contained 45 recommendations, both

short term and medium term; some of these recommendations have already been implemented

and the government has asked different concerned ministries to go ahead with implementing

the other recommendations. Although not properly exploited yet, Bangladesh does have quite a

few inherent strengths which can be used as the launching pad for making this country a

potential offshore source of Software and Data Processing Services. Some of these advantages

are : A substantial number of educated unemployed youth force, with ability to read and write

English, exists in the country. They can be trained in the required skill (particularly in Data

Processing Services) within a short time. Quite a few Bangladeshi skilled professionals have been

working abroad. They can be encouraged to return to the country and/or collaborate with

Bangladeshi entrepreneurs, provided proper environment is created. Universities in Bangladesh

are turning out an increasing number of graduates in Computer related subjects every year,

although the number is much less than the requirement. A large number of Bangladeshi

students are studying overseas in Computer related subjects. A wide range of Hardware

platforms, from Mainframe to PC, are available. Reasonable skills exist in the following areas :

Operating System - Windows, Windows 95, MAC/OS, Novell Netware, Windows NT, UNIX,

OS/400.

Programming Language - C++, Visual Basic, Visual FoxPro, COBOL, RPG, OOP, J++

RDBMS - Oracle, Informix, DB/2 Bangladesh offers a very attractive cost-effective wage level,

viz. Bangladesh India U.S.A. Programmers (per month) US$ 400 to 800 US$ 1,200 US$ 4,500

Data Entry (Per 10,000 keystrokes) US$ 3 to 5 US$ 10 US$ 30 to 50 The government has taken a

decision recently (June, 1998) to withdraw all import duties and VAT from all computer

hardware and software. This has brought the prices of computers down to a level affordable by

middle income households and sales of PCs have soared during the last few months. A 80-90%

annual growth in the number of PCs sold is expected this year. An Information Technology

village is going to be set up very close to Dhaka. The government has already made 18 acres of

land available for setting up this IT village. This would be similar to the Software Technology

Parks in India. All the infrastructure, including high-speed telecommunication facilities ( 2 Mbps

link) would be provided. These would enable the small companies to move into buildings with

readily available facilities. Since this is going to take at least two years, a decision has been taken

to initially set it up in an existing building in Dhaka. In June, 1996 the government decided to

allow private companies to act as Internet Services Providers (ISPs) using VSATs. At present,

there are about 22,000 account holders with the ISPs ( 8 in Dhaka and 2 in Chittagong) and the

total number of users would be around 100,000. The slow speed of access provided by VSATs

( max. 128.8 kbps) is a major constraint. A number of Cybercafes providing e-mail and Internet

browsing facilities have been opened in Dhaka city; these are quite popular among the young

generation. Public kiosks with internet facilities are also being planned. BTTB has already

established a network for providing Internet connectivity and plans to start commercial service

very soon. The proposed tariff rate should make Internet connection affordable to a larger cross-

section of public. BTTB is also establishing a fibre optic backbone in the country. They also plan

to offer ISDN service very soon using the facilities of the already installed digital exchanges in

Dhaka and Chittagong cities. In order to enable the young entrepreneurs in the IT field, a special

fund has been created by the government to provide working capital loan without any

collaterals. A venture capital fund is also being set up. The banking procedures are also being

amended and simplified to reflect the different nature of software transactions. Experience of

other countries shows that it is very difficult to achieve success in exporting software unless

there is a big domestic market. The government ministries and departments are being asked to

computerise their activities. A domestic price preference of 15% would be given to suppliers of

locally developed software. Bangladeshi students have recently been participating in

international programming contests. For example, in the ACM Inter-collegiate Programming

Contest held at Atlanta, USA, last year, the team from Bangladesh University of Engineering and

Technology (which had earlier emerged as the regional champions) secured the 24th position,

above many of the reputed universities in USA (including Stanford University). In the on-going

ACM programming contest on Internet, the performance of Bangladeshi students is among the

best - out of the top 25 positions, 17 are now occupied by Bangladeshis. In the Regional ACM

Inter-collegiate Programming Contest held in Dhaka recently, teams from Bangladesh

(particularly from BUET) performed much better than those from other countries of the region

(icluding India, Sri Lanka and Iran). Some of the local firms have already succeeded in exporting

software, although the total amount is not very large. One firm has been producing CDs with

searchable database for US and Latin American clients. CAD conversion work and web-page

design work are also being undertaken. Taking advantage of the considerable number of COBOL

programmers who were trained in the sixties and seventies, a number of firms are doing work

related to the Y2K problem. ERP software is being developed by a local firm in partnership with

Microsoft. The government has placed top most priority to human resource development in the

IT field. At present, the annual output of graduates in the IT field would be around 500. The

target is to produce 10,000 programmers annually by the year 2001. There are about 24

Universities offering undergraduate degree programmes in IT-related fields. All the four BITs (at

Rajshahi, Chittagong, Khulna and Gazipur) are also planning to offer undergraduate degree

programmes in computer science and engineering from next year. The 20 Polytechnics are also

introducing 3-year diploma programmes in Computer Technology. In addition, a large number of

educational and training institutes, many of them with linkage with foreign institutions, are also

offering training courses. One of the major problems faced by these institutions is the shortage

of trainers. Recognizing this problem, the GOB Committee (referred to earlier) recommended

that BCC should take up a crash programme to train at least 1000 high-level trainers by the end

of 1999. Moreover, the absence of adequate physical resources (e.g. computer hardware and

software) and weakness in course contents in the training institutions will adversely affect the

quality of output from these institutions. An accreditation system is planned to be introduced by

the government soon. BUET was the first institution to offer post-graduate degrees (M.Sc. and

Ph.D.) in Computer Science and Engineering. Some other institutions have also initiated research

programmes in IT related fields. These include Machine Learning, Pattern Recognition, Speech

Recognition, Automatic Translation, Computational Algorithm, VLSI and 3-D Vision. Considerable

research work has been done in the use of Bangla in computers. Unfortunately like R&D in other

fields of science and technology, there is very little interaction between academia and industry.

Efforts were initiated about 13 years back to introduce computers in schools and colleges.

‘Computer Studies’ has been introduced as an optional subject both in SSC and HSC

examinations. The lack of adequate physical facilities, computers and qualified teachers has

resulted in very few students opting for these courses. Experience of other countries shows that

teaching of computer programming by incompetent teachers may do more harm than good.

Therefore, teacher training is one of the priority actions to be taken. In order to co-ordinate the

computerisation activities of government and semi-government agencies a National Computer

Committee was set up in 1983. This was transformed into the National Computer Board in 1988

and the Bangladesh Computer Council was set up in 1989 by an Act of Parliament. It had some

initial problems and faced a lot of criticism from the IT community when it became more of a

regulatory body, rather than a promotional body as originally envisaged. It is planned to

strengthen BCC by inducting more IT professionals, so that it can play a bigger role in IT

development in the public sector, particularly in human resource development. A large number

of Bangladeshis are now working in the IT field in different companies in USA and are gradually

moving up the organizational hierarchy. The government is trying to get the assistance of these

non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) in IT development, particularly by giving them incentives to

set up software companies in Bangladesh. The lack of any copyright protection for software has

been one of the major deterrents in the growth of software industry. A software Copyright

Protection Act has already been drafted and is expected to be enacted very soon. Although the

banking sector had been among the pioneers in computerization in Bangladesh, the present

level of computer usage in banks is very low. The foreign banks operating in Bangladesh have

taken a lead in computerizing their front office operations. It is only during the last 4/5 years

that some of the Bangladeshi banks have started gradually computerising their front office

activities and very soon a network of automatic teller machines (ATMs) using VSATs would be

set up by the private banks throughout the major towns. At present, Internet access is available

only in a few Universities. The University Grants Commission is setting up BERNET (Bangladesh

Educational and Research Network) establishing linkage among the Universities and providing

access to the Internet. One of the major constraints in the initial stages of computerisation of

government offices was the non-availability of Bangla software and Bangla fonts in printers. The

breakthrough came when the PCs were introduced in the early eighties and very soon desktop

publishing using computers became very popular. Bangla version of many of the commonly used

packages like world processing, spreadsheet and database management have been developed.

Almost all the IT related developments which have taken place during the last few years are

concentrated in the capital city, Dhaka; in other cities and towns, only a small number of

computers are being used, mostly for word processing. (The government funded training

institute NTRAMS at Bogra, with a few hundred PCs is a notable exception). The danger of

increasing the already existing disparity between urban and rural areas looms large in the

horizon. In order to enable rural populace to get the benefits of IT, Grameen Communications is

trying to develop a system linking the mobile telephone systems (which are already being used

in a large number of villages) with solar-powered computers. This would enable the large

number of rural educational institutes, offices and households to get the benefits of e-mail and

Internet access. Moreover, some of the data processing services could be rendered by people

living in villages, rather than moving into urban areas. The present government has recognized

IT as one of the priority sectors and is providing all support to the private sector to enable them

to enter the export market for software and data processing services. Recognizing the bright

future of IT, a large number of students, young professionals and businessmen are taking keen

interest in acquiring knowledge about computers and its applications. This is reflected in the

tremendous enthusiasm generated in the on-going International Computer Show organized by

Bangladesh Computer Samity. It is expected that within the next 3 to 4 years, IT applications in

Bangladesh would not only spread to various private and public sector offices and industrial

units, but Bangladesh would emerge as a regional hub for software development.

Bangladesh air pollution

Air pollution and health have been a major focus in Bangladesh in recent years. In Dhaka air

quality monitoring since April 2002 has shown that concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 represent

problems. Particularly in the non-monsoon period the concentrations of both regularly exceed

proposed standards. Whilst the monitoring programme has been spatially limited, and a more

extensive programme is needed before the extent of the problem can be defined, the need for

an action plan to protect human health from air pollution is already recognised. The central

areas of Bangladesh cities are very heavily trafficked, with persistent traffic jams during the day.

In Chittagong, for example, the combination of a hilly geography, the stop-start mode of

congested traffic, the old age of the significant truck fraction of total traffic, and the heavy loads

carried by most trucks causes incredibly large emissions of black diesel smoke. Transport

between dispersed industrial areas also means a considerable kilometreage subject to these

large emissions. At the opposite end of the motor vehicle fleet, are auto-rickshaws. Whilst a

large number in Dhaka and Chittagong have been converted to compressed natural gas (CNG)

and are quite clean, the remainder in these two cities and the large part of the fleet elsewhere

in Bangladesh, represent a considerable pollution source. Populations are exposed to very high

pollution concentrations in these areas. Vehicular traffic is not the only issue. Large and often

uncontrolled industries, such as steel mills and cement factories can have impact, especially

when located within residential and commercial areas. A smaller industry with potentially large

impact is the brick kiln sector, these being relatively small but very numerous within limited

areas, numbers running well into the hundreds. Simple computer modelling evaluations suggest

their footprint of impact can cover many kilometres. The World Bank has concluded that much

greater technical assistance is needed to address the problems faced in Dhaka, and is funding a

follow up and expansion to the previous AQMP, aimed at technical support for emission

reduction entitled Clean Air and Sustainable Environment (CASE). The BAPMAN project will air

to supply and train for an encompassing air quality management system and provide for air

quality and health assessment and projection capabilities, fits as a close complement to the new

initiative, enabling air quality management which encompasses and goes beyond the focus areas

of the World Bank project.

Water supply and sanitation in BangladeshBangladesh: Water and Sanitation

Data

Water coverage (broad definition)

74%

Sanitation coverage (broad definition)

39%

Continuity of supply (%) Intermittent

Average urban water use (l/c/d)

115 (in Dhaka 2001)97 (2007)

Average urban water tariff (US$/m³)

0.12 (Average of main urban areas in 2007) 0.08 (in Dhaka 2007)

Share of household metering 67% (2007)

Annual investment in WSS US$0.55/capita (Average 1994/95-2000/01)

Share of self-financing by utilities

Very low

Share of tax-financing Low

Share of external financing n/a

Decentralization to municipalities

Full

National water and sanitation company

None

Water and sanitation regulator

None

Responsibility for policy setting

National Water Resources Council (NWRC) for water resources management

Sector law None

Number of urban service providers

More than 200 municipalities and 2 Water Supply and Sewerage Agencies (for Dhaka and Chittagong)

Number of rural service providers

n/a

Water supply and sanitation in Bangladesh is characterized by a number of

achievements and challenges. The share of the population with access to an improved

water source was estimated at 98% in 2004, a very high level for a low-income country.

This has been achieved to a large extent through the construction of hand pumps with the

support of external donors. However, in 1993 it was discovered that groundwater, the

source of drinking water for 97% of the rural population and a significant share of the

urban population, is in many cases naturally contaminated with arsenic. It gradually

emerged that 70 million people drank water which exceeds the WHO guidelines of 10

microgram of arsenic per liter, and 30 million drank water containing more than the

Bangladesh National Standard of 50 microgram per liter, leading to chronic arsenic

poisoning. On the other hand, surface water is usually polluted and requires treatment.

Taking arsenic contamination into account, it was estimated that in 2004 still 74% of the

population had access to arsenic-free drinking water. Another challenge is the low level

of cost recovery due to low tariffs and poor economic efficiency, especially in urban

areas where revenues from water sales do not even cover operating costs. In rural areas,

users contribute 34% of investment costs, and at least in piped water schemes supported

by the Rural Development Academy recover operating costs. Sanitation faces its own set

of challenges, with only 39% of the population estimated to have had access to adequate

sanitation facilities in 2004. This is actually a doubling of the 20% share in 1990. A new

approach to improve sanitation coverage in rural areas, the community-led total sanitation

concept that has been first introduced in Bangladesh, is credited for having contributed

significantly to the increase in sanitation coverage since 2000.The government has

adopted a number of policies to remedy the challenges in the sector, including National

Policies for Safe Water Supply and Sanitation, both of 1998, a National Water Policy of

1999, a National Water Management Plan, and a National Policy for Arsenic Mitigation,

both of 2004. Among others, these policies emphasize decentralization, user

participation, the role of women, and "appropriate pricing rules". The Arsenic Mitigation

Policy gives "preference to surface water over groundwater". At the operational level,

there has also been a conceptual shift from single-use of water - such as through hand

pumps for drinking water and motorized deep tube wells for irrigation - to multiple use of

water from deep tube wells since the 1990s.

Textile sector

Bangladesh's textile industry, which includes knitwear and ready-made garments along

with specialized textile products, is the nation's number one export earner, accounting for

80% of Bangladesh's exports of $15.56 billion in 2009. Bangladesh is 3rd in world textile

exports behind Turkey, another low volume exporter, and China which exported $120.1

billion worth of textiles in 2009. The industry employs nearly 3.5 million workers.

Current exports have doubled since 2004. Wages in Bangladesh's textile industry were

the lowest in the world as of 2010. The country was considered the most formidable rival

to China where wages were rapidly rising and currency was appreciating. After massive

labor unrest in 2006 the government formed a Minimum Wage Board including business

and worker representatives which in 2006 set a minimum wage equivalent to 1,662.50

taka, $24 a month, up from Tk950. In 2010, following widespread labor protests

involving 100,000 workers in June, 2010, a controversial proposal was being considered

by the Board which would raise the monthly minimum to the equivalent of $50 a month,

still far below worker demands of 5,000 taka, $72, for entry level wages, but

unacceptably high according to textile manufacturers who are asking for a wage below

$30. On July 28, 2010 it was announced that the minimum entry level wage would be

increased to 3,000 taka, about $43. The government also seems to believe some change is

necessary. On September 21, 2006 then ex-Prime Minister Khaleda Zia called on textile

firms to ensure the safety of workers by complying with international labor law at a

speech inaugurating the Bangladesh Apparel & Textile Exposition (BATEXPO).

Bangladesh stock market -- possibilities and problems

BANGLADESH'S stock market has witnessed impressive growth since 2007. Listing

of Grameen Phone was a major recent event. It was expected that listing of GP would be a

catalyst for other companies to follow. That is yet to happen. It appears that progress of new

listing rather has slowed down. It has to get out of current stagnation and move towards further

expansion. A large number of new investors from across the country are entering the market.

Institutional investors are active in the market. Asset management companies are growing and

their activities are visible. A number of proposals for new mutual funds are awaiting approval.

These developments need to be seen positively. Policies regarding different methods of listing,

IPO pricing, approval of new mutual funds and other market related matters should be made

keeping long term market interest in view. It is desirable that short term policy interventions

just to address a temporary market crisis are avoided. In a small but rapidly developing stock

market, there will be problems like market manipulation, over pricing of stock, panic created by

vested interest, price distortion, regulatory shortcomings and so on. In any stock market, there

will bullish and bearish trends. Regulatory policies should be framed with long term vision. In

recent months, some policy decisions are being taken to address current problems at the cost of

long term market interest. These policy changes include fixation of minimum size of new public

issue, imposing restriction on private placements, disqualifying private sector companies under

direct listing and discouraging new mutual funds. Many of the stocks are over priced and this is a

serious risk factor for the inexperienced investors. Entry of new companies in the market can

help reduce gap between demand and supply and help bring stability in the market. New

companies need to be encouraged to come to the bourse through market friendly policy. But

recent policy interventions do not seem to be moving towards that end. The state-owned

companies are not coming forward for listing despite repeated assurances given by the

authorities. Immediate entry of at least two or three large companies could be extremely helpful

for a balanced growth of the market. Currently, Grameen Phone alone accounts for a large

portion of the market capitalization. As a result, normal movement of its price affects the index

substantially and entire market is influenced by it. Entry of a few more large companies could

balance the market. In this backdrop the proposal on entry of Janata Bank with its big was a

welcome move. Perhaps, proposed premium was excessive and the balance sheet called for a

close examination. But these are problems that could be settled. However, it now seems that

the proposal has been shelved for the time being. This has been done in spite of regulatory

requirement of listing for all banks and financial institutions. BTCL with its huge asset is another

public sector company that could make immense contribution to supply side of the market. But

the way things are moving, it may take months or even years for that to happen. Recently, we

have been hearing about Bangladesh Biman's plan of raising fund from capital market. This is a

losing company with huge accumulated debt. It may be difficult for the company to raise fund

from the market unless it starts with a clean balance sheet. It has to be admitted that it is not

the responsibility of the government to ensure listing of the state-owned companies for

expansion of the market. This alone can not be the solution either. But the government and the

SEC do have a responsibility to promote environment in which private sector companies feel

encouraged to raise fund from capital market. Private sector companies are generally reluctant

to be listed for variety of reasons. Therefore, it will be difficult to bring them to the stock

markets without liberal policy packages. Recent trend appears to be just in the opposite

direction. By imposing different conditions and limitations, the intending companies are actually

being discouraged. On 11 March, 2010 SEC imposed certain conditions through a notification

restricting further the scope of public issue. Henceforth, minimum paid up capital (existing +

proposed) required for public issue will be Taka 400 million. It means that a smaller company

that does not need that much of capital will not be able to raise fund from the capital market.

The notification also provides that public offer at IPO up to paid up capital of Taka 750 million

will be minimum 40% of the said capital and no private placement will be allowed. For

companies with paid up capital between Taka 750 million and 1500 million, public offer at IPO

has to be at least 25% of the said capital or Taka 300 million whichever is higher. There will be

no private placement. Where paid up capital exceeds Taka 1500 million, IPO size has to be

minimum 15% or Taka 400 million whichever is higher. It appears from the notification that for

this category of companies there is no restriction on private placement. Determination of IPO

size by the SEC seems to be unwarranted. It should be for the concerned company to decide

how much additional fund it needs to raise for running the business. How can the SEC determine

requirement of the company? If a company does not need that much of fund, why should it be

disqualified from listing with a stock exchange? It seems to be an unnecessary policy

intervention that will go against smaller companies and discourage them to come to the capital

market. Private placements have been stopped in case of smaller companies. It is true that

scope of private placement has been misused in some cases recently and the problem called for

intervention. However, stopping private placement altogether does not seem to be the proper

response. Private placements have certain positive aspects also which should be taken into

account while formulating policy. Private placements help distributing ownership to a larger

segment of investors. It can generate confidence among investors if placements are made to

credible and reputed institutions. Proper placements can add to the strength of the company.

Therefore, policy intervention could be made to ensure placements on the basis of certain

criteria instead of doing away with it altogether. Besides, this measure may not be effective. If a

company wants to distribute shares, it can do so much before coming to SEC for listing. Direct

listing is another area of current interest. Private sector companies have been disqualified under

this scheme. This has resulted in an uneven playing field between public and private sector

companies which is difficult to justify in principle. This is a valid criticism that direct listing does

not help a company. Their beneficiaries are the share holders who offload the shares and make

extra profit from an overheated market. But private sector companies were coming to the

market under this provision and that was helping supply side in the market. In the past, public

sector companies derived the same benefit from an over priced market. Therefore allowing only

the government to take advantage of the over priced market can hardly be justified. It is true

that pricing mechanism under direct listing needs to be revisited. Current practice of price

discovery under book building is not justified under direct listing Institutional investors are

taking advantage of indicative price and getting allotment at the cut off price while the small

investors are obliged to buy the same normally at a much higher price after trading starts. If this

policy is to be continued, small investors should also get the shares at the cut off price through

lottery as in the case of IPO allotment under book building scheme. Under no circumstances,

institutional investors should be allowed to get allotment at a price lower than the price at

which smaller investors will be able to buy subsequently. In the interest of improving supply of

shares in the market, direct listing could also be allowed for the private sector companies with

some modifications. There should be an improved price discovery mechanism so that general

investors get the shares at an acceptable price and manipulations are controlled. Provisions can

be made to ensure investment of the generated fund in the prescribed priority sectors. At

present, new companies can not mobilize fund from capital market. Only companies with

proven track record are allowed to make public offer. There is only one green field company

now. However, direct listing method offers an opportunity where the entrepreneurs may invest

the sale proceeds of their shares of a company in another new company. There can be many

other ways of effective utilization of funds generated under direct listing method. But

disqualifying private sector companies altogether will only slow down the process of new

enlisting and deprive the market of new supply. Growth of mutual fund in Bangladesh has been

slow. Only recently there has been a rush for new funds. Many banks and financial institutions

are in the queue with proposals for their funds. Mutual fund is often a misunderstood subject in

Bangladesh. Many investors do not understand the difference between mutual fund shares and

other company shares. Mutual fund share is not the share of a company. It is a fund under a

trust. Investment in mutual fund is ideal for investors who do not want to take risk because the

fund is managed professionally and the collective investment is diversified. The price of a closed-

end fund share is normally determined by the value of the investment in the fund. Therefore,

the market price of a fund share is often close to the per share NAV. However, in Bangladesh

that may not always be the case. It is seen that market price of a mutual fund share can at times

be much higher than their NAV justify. Mutual fund share price can also fluctuate heavily and be

subject to wild speculation. As a result the safe investment tool often becomes a risky area. In

recent times, price of a share of a new fund has been a few times higher on the very first day of

trading defying the basic characteristic of mutual fund. So the rush for getting private placement

in the proposed mutual funds is understandable. The concern of the regulator is also a normal

response. However, negative attitude in respect of mutual fund should be avoided. Compared to

our neighboring countries, mutual fund size in Bangladesh is very low. New mutual fund

increases both demand and supply. In the interest of professional investment and balanced

market growth, new mutual funds must be encouraged. It is true that massive influx of new

funds at a time is not desirable in such a small market. SEC policy of allowing these funds in

phases seems to be rational. But impediments should not be created in their normal growth and

development of mutual fund should be encouraged. More institutional and professional

investment is likely to stabilize the market and help reduce rumor based investment. However,

private placement policy and allotment criteria may perhaps be reviewed. The expanding stock

market needs a strong and efficient regulator to steer its growth. The Securities and Exchange

Commission will have to be more efficient and professional. It simply can not run with the

present manpower. It needs more professionals, more training at home and abroad and more

logistic support. But it is just not possible to attract the right kind of professionals with the

current pay structure. Housing and other facilities are shockingly absent. The Commission

deserves more attention of the government for its capacity building. The authority of the

Commission seems to have eroded in recent times. While the Commission has to work within

overall government policy, frequent intervention is not desirable. Public image of the

Commission must not be undermined. Similarly, the stock exchanges will have to improve their

professional management and practice principles of corporate governance. It is desirable that

Board of Directors or any of the exchange members do not interfere with professional

management of the exchange and leave day to day management to the Chief Executive Officer.

This may not always be the case now. Research wing, surveillance department and many other

areas will have to be more professional and efficient. With increased daily turnover income of

the exchanges must have gone up and it should not be difficult to spend more for improved

management. Bangladesh’s stock market is poised for rapid development. For this the SEC, DSE ,

CSE and all market players should work together with the support of the government. market

confidence is sure to erode if conflicting signals are received from different authorities. At the

same time investors will have to understand that in any stock market there are ups and downs

and they can not blame others whenever stock prices slide down. Fortunately, investors are

getting matured gradually and hopefully we may not have to see shouting and slogan in front of

the exchanges any longer.

Default Culture of Bangladesh

The Bengal region has a multifaceted folk heritage, enriched by its ancient animist, Buddhist,

Hindu, and Muslim roots. Weaving, pottery and terracotta sculpture are some of the earliest

forms of artistic expression. The best known literature of Bangladesh is the work of the great

Bengali poets Rabindranath Tagore and Nasrul Islam. Folk theatre is common at the village level

and usually

takes place during harvest time or at melas (village fairs). There are many folk dances, but

classical dance is largely borrowed from Indian models and is frowned upon by the more severe

religious leaders. Bangladesh’s Muslims and Hindus live in relative harmony. The Muslim

majority has religious leaders, pirs, whose status straddles the gap between that of a bishop and

that of a sage. Hinduism in Bangladesh lacks the pomp and awe of the Indian version, but

consequently Hindu ceremonies are rarely conducted in the depths of temples to which access

is restricted. People here are very willing for you to watch and even participate. Buddhists today

form only a tiny minority of the population. It's worth noting that the Bangladeshi pride in

ancestry is balanced by the Islamic slant of the country's intellectual life which tends to deny the

achievements of the preceding Hindu and Buddhist cultures. Muslim festivals follow a lunar

calendar. At the beginning of the year, Ramadan is a month-long period of fasting in

February/March. At the full moon 14 days before the start of Ramadan, Shab-e-Barat is a sacred

night when alms and sweets are distributed to the poor. Hindu festivals follow a different

calendar but they generally fall at much the same date each year. The Holi Festival or Festival of

Colours, commonly known as the spring festival, is celebrated in the first week of March. Durga

Puja is celebrated during October, and statues of the goddess astride a lion, with her ten hands

holding ten different weapons, are placed in every Hindu temple. A typical Bangladeshi meal

consists of beef (or sometimes mutton, chicken, fish or egg) and vegetables cooked in a hot

spicy sauce, yellow watery lentils (dal) and plain rice. Fish is part of the staple diet; however,

over-fishing has led to a scarcity of river fish and more sea fish are appearing on menus.

Alcoholic drinks are not widely available; head for five-star hotels and ritzier restaurants when

you want a tipple.

Risks

The political risks to implementing reforms are high. With elections approaching, a

significant risk is that political instability may increase. The Government's reform

program might be diluted or deferred by confrontational politics and lack of political

consensus. Moreover, should political confrontation trigger an upsurge in hartals and the

Government fail to improve law and order, private sector investment may not be

forthcoming at the levels anticipated in the NPRS. While ADB can do little to mitigate

the political risks, some bilateral DPs are actively engaged in a dialogue with the

Government on these issues aimed at fostering multiparty harmony. In anticipation of

these risks, the CSP emphasizes reforms that are formulated in a participatory manner,

implemented incrementally and sequentially, and generate short-term, visible payoffs.

The CSP also provides support for a large number of consultative and participatory

processes to help build broad-based, bipartisan commitment to the NPRS reform agenda.

Another related risk is weak implementation capacity. Deterioration in civil service

efficiency and weak incentives due to low public sector salaries and poor management of

the civil service could contribute to slow progress in NPRS implementation. The CSP

will mitigate these risks by strategic interventions in support of governance management

training and capacity building to improve implementation capacity to foster reforms and

improve project implementation. Greater emphasis will be placed on linking substantive

governance training to promotions policy and making greater use of e-governance to

improve public sector performance.

A challenging external environment and a vulnerable domestic eco-setting pose risks to

the economic growth assumptions underlying the CSP outcomes. Garment exports could

be adversely affected by the phasing-out of the Multi-Fiber Arrangement trade

preferences. In addition, higher global petroleum prices may threaten external balances.

The CSP acknowledges the seriousness of these risks, but recognizes that more open and

competitive global markets present tremendous opportunities for the export of labor-

intensive goods and services. To help manage risks arising from global market

uncertainties, the CSP accords special emphasis to improving competitiveness and

efficiency, deregulating energy prices, building the skills base, deepening regional

integration, diversifying exports, and nurturing new sources of private sector-led growth.

Finally, natural disasters could disrupt investment operations and aggravate poverty

conditions. To help anticipate and mitigate the effects of serious floods, ADB will

contribute to the multi-aid effort that is helping the Government build its early warning

and disaster response capacity, and will mainstream flood concerns into all ADB

operations.

Bangladesh

Reviewed: 28 July 2010, 16:25 NZDT Still current at: 12 December 2010

There is high risk to your security in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region and we advise

against all tourist and other non-essential travel to this region due to the high risk of

kidnapping and unstable security situation. There is some risk to your security elsewhere

in Bangladesh due to the unpredictable security and political situation and threat from

terrorism and we advise caution. Bangladesh has a history of politically motivated

violence. There were some incidents of violence after the Bangladesh general elections in

December 2008. Demonstrations and rallies, nationwide strikes (hartals) and localised

industrial disputes can occur almost anywhere with little notice and develop into violent

confrontations and civil disorder. New Zealanders are advised to avoid all political

demonstrations, rallies and large public gatherings as they could turn violent with little

warning, monitor the local media for information and follow any advice and instructions

issued by the local authorities. New Zealanders should also exercise a high degree of

personal security awareness at all times. There is a threat from terrorism in Bangladesh.

In recent years there have been a number of terrorist incidents. In May 2007, three bombs

exploded at railway stations in Dhaka, Sylhet and Chittagong. In December 2006, an

explosive device exploded in the Dhaka University Campus area. Possible terrorist

targets include (but are not limited to) government and judicial buildings, markets,

shopping malls, cinemas, shrines, public transport facilities, cultural events and political

gatherings. Piracy is a problem in the waters of the Indian Subcontinent. In Bangladesh

pirates are targeting ships preparing to anchor, particularly at Chittagong anchorages and

approaches. Mariners are advised to take appropriate precautionary measures in these

waters. For more information view the International Maritime Bureau's piracy report.

New Zealanders travelling or resident in Bangladesh should have comprehensive medical

and travel insurance policies that include provision for medical evacuation by air. New

Zealanders travelling or resident in Bangladesh are encouraged to register their details

with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Increasing tax – GDP ratio

Article from:The New Nation

Article date:February 5, 2010

Bangladesh, Feb. 5 -- ACCORDING to recent press reports, the government has planned 25

measures to increase the tax-GDP ratio which decreased in this financial year because of a

shortfall in revenue earnings. The ratio is the total government tax collections divided by the

GDP which is the total market value of goods and services produced domestically in a given

period. The proposed measures in this regard would be placed in Parliament for approval during

a presentation on the first quarter of budget implementation by the finance minister. The tax -

GDP ratio is now only 8.5, which is one of the lowest in South Asia. If the revenue income rises

by 0.7 per cent a year, infrastructure …

Bangladesh

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

(ESCAP) has recently published Economic and Social Survey of Asia and Pacific 2010. The Survey,

interalia, suggests the need for redirection of policies to promote growth based on internal

stimulus, rather than external demand. To quote from the Survey "......... to unwind the global

imbalances, many of the developed countries will need to restrain debt-fuelled consumption.

The Asia-Pacific Countries, for their part, will therefore need to seek new sources of growth

rebalancing their economies in favour of greater domestic and regional consumption". The logic

behind the suggestion: The rationale behind the suggestion is embedded in the macro-economic

identity: Y C+I+(X-M) where Y stands for gross domestic product (GDP), C for consumption, I for

investment, X for exports and M for imports. Growth in gross domestic product (GDP) therefore

is equal to the weighted sum of these components. In follows that one way of accelerating

growth is to increase the domestic components, namely, C and I in substitution of (X-M). Pitfalls

in the logic: The fundamental problem in the logic is that the static accounting identity does not

capture the interactions among the components in the growth process. To illustrate, if a country

already has a high level of domestic consumption, policies aimed at increasing it further would

cause a reduction in saving. This, in turn, would most likely reduce investment which is a basic

precondition for accelerating economic growth. Secondly, if policies are focused on increasing

investment, in countries with little or no capacity to produce capital goods, imports will go up. If

the incremental imports can not be met by export growth, net exports i.e. (X-M) will go down

exerting negative impact on growth. Thirdly, one of the key justifications for the pursuit of an

export-oriented growth strategy is to overcome domestic demand constraint. Substitution of

exports by domestic consumption may not be feasible in countries with high levels of

consumption and low levels of per capita income. Bangladesh scenario: The scenario in

Bangladesh suggests that any substantial effort to refocus the economy on domestic demand

would be confronted with all of the above problems. An examination of the structure of

aggregate demand of seven Asian countries with relatively large populations (Bangladesh, China,

India, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam) for the year 2007 (last normal year before

the onset of global financial meltdown and recession) shows that Bangladesh had the second

highest consumption/GDP ratio (93%), second lowest investment/ GDP ratio (24%), lowest

export/ GDP ratio (20%) and second highest net negative export/ GDP ratio (-7%). In order to

achieve the desired economic growth of 8.0% by 2015, the country will have to raise

investment/ GDP ratio to approximately 32%. That means (i) consumption/ GDP ratio has to go

down to generate savings for financing investment; (ii) import/ GDP ratio will have to increase in

view of the country's virtually total dependence on import of capital goods as well as most of

the raw materials and intermediate goods. This, in turn, will require enhanced exports. In

addition; given the low level of per capital income and high consumption/ GDP ratio, there is

very little scope for redirecting exports to domestic market. Comments on specific suggestions:

The above analysis does not necessarily imply that some of the specific policy suggestions

offered in the Survey to expand domestic consumption have no relevance. In fact, Bangladesh

has been already implementing these policies. The suggestions offered are (i) strengthening

social protection; (ii) promoting agriculture and rural development; (iii) supporting new engines

of green growth; (iv)enhancing financial inclusion. Over 15% of total government expenditure in

Bangladesh is devoted to social safety net, while agriculture, local government, rural

development and water resources development together account for around 30%. To enhance

financial inclusion, in addition to micro-credit in which Bangladesh is recognized as the world

leader, the Government and the Bangladesh Bank have been emphasizing expansion of

agricultural credit and loan to small and medium enterprises (SME) sector through formal

financial system. The disbursement of agricultural credit grew by 62% in fiscal year (FY) 08, 8% in

FY 09 and 16% in FY 10 (July-April period). At the end of March 20 10, SME loans increased by

17%. The Government has been offering fiscal incentives and the Bangladesh Bank has

introduced a refinancing scheme for investment in green technologies. Concluding observations:

Bangladesh has been already pursuing policy prescriptions contained in the Survey for internally

demand driven strategy. There may be some scope for strengthening these measures in the

interest of promoting equity, poverty alleviation and environmental sustenance. But at the

current level of high consumption, low exports, low investment and high import dependence,

Bangladesh has very little option other than to pursue a strong export-oriented growth strategy.

Domestic demand stimulation measures may at best be construed as useful complements to the

basic thrust of outward looking orientation. However, greater reliance on domestic demand may

be more feasible in China, India, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam with comparatively lower

levels of consumption and higher levels of investment, exports and per capita income. The

Philippines is similar to Bangladesh in terms of levels of consumption and investment, but it has

much higher levels of per capita income and exports.

............................................................

Mirza Azizul Islam, Ph.D. is former Adviser to the Caretaker Government, Ministries of Finance

and Planning. This write-up in the form of a paper was prepared to initiate discussion on the

ESCAP Survey 2010 in a workshop organized by the Economic Research Group ERG) and the

Macroeconomic Division of UN-ESCAP at Sheraton Hotel, Dhaka, on June 26, 2010

Literacy rate of Bangladesh rises to 63 percent

DHAKA, June 23 (Xinhua) -- The literacy rate of Bangladesh rose to around 62.66

percent in 2003 from 60 percent in 2001, reported the official Bangladesh News Agency

on Wednesday.This was revealed Wednesday here by the prime minister's advisor on

primary and mass education, professor Jahanara Begum. The professor further pointed

out the achievement was made mainly because of massive expansion program of the

primary and mass education in the last three years, as the current enrollment rate in the

primary schools raised to 98 percent.

Absence of corporate social reporting (CSR) in

Bangladesh: a research note

Belal, Ataur R. and Cooper, Stuart (2007). Absence of corporate social reporting (CSR)

in Bangladesh: a research note. IN: Proceedings of 5th APIRA Conference. Auckland

(NZ), 8-10 July 2007.

Abstract

This paper aims to broaden the present CSR literature by extending its focus to the

absence of CSR within a developing country, an area which, to date, is relatively under

researched in comparison to the more widely studied presence of CSR within developed

Western countries. In particular this paper concentrates upon the lack of disclosure on

three particular eco-justice issues: child labour, equal opportunities and poverty

alleviation. We critically examine why this is the case and thereby illuminate underlying

motives behind corporate unwillingness to address these issues. For this purpose, 23

semi-structured interviews were undertaken with senior corporate managers in

Bangladesh. The findings suggest that the main reasons for non-disclosure include lack of

legal requirements, lack of knowledge/awareness, poor performance and fear of bad

publicity. Given these findings the paper raises some serious concerns as to why

corporations would ever be expected to voluntarily report on eco-justice issues where

performance is poor and negative publicity would be generated. These significant issues

require careful consideration by policy makers at the national, regional and international

levels.

Natural Resources in Bangladesh

Most of Bangladesh lies within the broad delta formed by the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers

and is exceedingly flat, low-lying, and subject to annual flooding. Much fertile, alluvial soil is

deposited by the floodwaters. The only significant area of hilly terrain, constituting less than

one-tenth of the nation's territory, is the Chittagong Hill Tracts District in the narrow

southeastern panhandle of the country. There, on the border with Myanmar, is Mowdok Mual

(1,003 m/3,291 ft), the country's highest peak. Small, scattered hills lie along or near the eastern

and northern borders with India. The eroded remnants of two old alluvial terraces-the

Madhupur Tract, in the north central part of the country, and The Barind, straddling the

northwestern boundary with India-attain elevations of about 30 m (about 100 ft). The soil here

is much less fertile than the annually replenished alluvium of the surrounding floodplain.

Land Total area: 144,000 square kilometers;

Land area: 133,910 square kilometers

Land boundaries: 4,246 km total; 193 km with Myanmar, 4,053 km with India,

Coastline: 580 km.

Land distribution:

· Arable land 67%

· Forest and woodland 16%

· Permanent crops 2%

· Meadows and pastures 4%

· Others 11%.

Tax Justice in Bangladesh

“Recently, a section of our society has become remarkably affluent. The government,

however, is not receiving due taxes from this section of the society. We need to provide a lot of

incentives and motivations to expand our revenue base. For instance, we provide considerable

tax exemptions in areas where employment opportunities are created. As export helps increase

demand for production, we provide various incentives and tax holidays for exports”—

M.A.Muhit, Minister of Finance, Government of Bangladesh, Budget Speech 2010 - 11

Most developing countries are increasingly focusing on domestic resource mobilization toward

economic development. In this context, tax performance is of crucial importance, especially for

a developing country, since it is the prime source for domestic resource mobilization. Many

developing countries often face difficulty in augmenting tax revenue to the desired level and

considerable attention is being devoted to formulating fiscal policy best suited for increasing

revenue. Bangladesh, as an emerging developing country, is committed to augmenting revenue

and achieving fiscal discipline with a view to increasing self-reliance. The external environment

influencing the tax performance of Bangladesh has changed remarkably as the country became

increasingly integrated with the global economy during the 1990s (McCarten, 2005). In recent

years, the Government of Bangladesh has initiated some administrative and policy reforms in

the tax system. An improved tax administration in association with some pragmatic policy

initiatives has resulted in a modest improvement in the tax-GDP ratio of late. However, the

performance is still unsatisfactory as compared to other countries at a similar stage of economic

development.

INSUFFICIENT READING MATERIALS AND INEFFECTIVE SERVICES

Most of the complaints received from the users are about less access to information. The

problem of providing the required reading materials as sources of information to the readers,

with limited financial resources of libraries, is now almost universal.

Constraints of Agriculture in Bangladesh:

Agriculture is dependent on the vagaries of nature and is risky.

Availability of cultivable land is decreasing.

Widespread poverty among the population engaged in agriculture.

Lack of required capital for agricultural activities.

Inadequacy of appropriate technology considering farmers soci-economic conditions.

Uncertainty of fair price of agricultural commodities due to underdeveloped marketing

system.

Agricultural commodities are rapidly perishable and post harvest losses are too high.

Limited knowledge of common people about the nutritional value of agricultural

commodities including vegetables and fruits.

Gas supply problems and the economy

SHORTAGE of gas has badly hit many parts of the country, particularly the port city

of Chittagong. Industries that are already operational or are on the way of being set up or on

trial production, in and around the port city and also the capital city of Dhaka, are bearing the

burnt of this shortage. According to available reports, the severe supply-side constraints relating

to gas transmission and distribution has disrupted production. The export-oriented garments

and related industries are suffering production losses, in some cases, up to 50 per cent of their

normal level. The leaders of the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association

(BGMEA), Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers

Association (BKMA) expressed their serious concern to the media about the great sufferings that

descended on them from the insufficiency of gas. According to the estimates made by the

business leaders of the broad textile industry, 90 per cent of the yarn for the readymade

garments (RMG) sector and 97 per cent of the fabric of the knitwear industries are produced

locally.

The present shortage of gas has hit the industries severely leading to production decline, to a

marked extent, and the closure of a good number of industries under their respective sectors.

The leaders of related industries also apprehend the imminent closure of hundreds of industries

if this problem persists for long. The entire export-oriented garments sector would then stand to

be very badly affected; hundreds of thousands of workers employed in them will thus be facing

the additional threat about new redundancy and loss of income. Apart from the RMG and

related sectors, the gas crisis is also affecting adversely production activities in various types of

export-based industries in the Chittagong region, and at Narayanganj, Gazipur, Ashulia and Savar

in the Dhaka region. The worst effects of the situation are seen at Chittagong. The 'minimum'

gas demand of industries in this region is some 335 million cubic feet. Against this demand, only

about 216 million cubic feet of gas is being received. It leaves a minimum supply gap of some

120 million cubic feet per day. Many industries that had been set up in Chittagong at least two

years ago, are still unable to start production from not getting gas connections. The ones that

have got the connection are in no position to carry out normal production activities and, thus,

their management have considered it fit not to produce for the time being. As most of them

have been set up with borrowings from banks and other financial institutions, they are only

accumulating their debts. Therefore, the gas crisis pose a threat not only to various types of

industries but also to the banking sector.

This supply-side problem needs to be responded immediately and effectively. The authorities

concerned have been holding frequent meetings to search for a solution, but nothing of a

substantative nature appears to have come out of these deliberations. Attention needs to be

paid from the highest level of the government to this issue which is gradually forming into a very

serious threat for the economy. Gas supplies must be augmented on an urgent and priority

basis. Production can be increased from the wells which are otherwise operating satisfactorily as

a temporary measure while all-out activities must start to find out new gas fields at the fastest.

Thus, new exploration activities, along with works to improve the transmission system of gas,

should be undertaken with an equal sense of emergency.

Higher Education in Bangladesh: Problems and Policies

The paper examines selected issues of access, equity and efficiency, both internal and

external, of higher education as imparted in degree colleges and universities of

Bangladesh, and makes certain policy recommendations. Degree colleges that account for

the lion’s share of enrolment at the level of higher education in Bangladesh suffer from

inadequate infra-structural facilities (libraries and laboratories), and lack of qualified

teachers. The poor pass percentage and high incidence of unemployment amongst the

graduates indicate to low levels of internal and external efficiency respectively. Because

of limited number of seats in public universities, and high tuition fees charged by the

private universities, access to university education is rather limited in Bangladesh. Private

universities with inadequate full time faculty members depend heavily on part- time

teachers drawn primarily from public universities, which adversely affect quality of

education in those universities. With a few notable exceptions, most private universities

impart education of uncertain quality, and high tuition fees charged by such institutions

make them accessible only to the affluent sections in the society. Public universities,

primarily dependent on limited government funding shrinking in real terms, unable to

generate additional resources by raising tuition fees due to political constraints, are hardly

in a position to improve their quality of education through greater investment in libraries

and laboratories. Many democratic provisions of the University Acts not only encroach

upon the limited teaching time of the faculty members by engaging them in active

politics, but also fail to ensure accountability of the teachers, that contribute to

lengthening of session jams, quite often accentuated by unscheduled closures of

universities due to violent inter and intra-party clashes of student fronts of major political

parties. Moreover, as it happens quite often, 'voters', not 'teachers' are recruited that

adversely affect the quality of university education. As there hardly exists any linkage

between public universities on the one hand, and employers and the job market on the

other, many university graduates, produced at considerable cost to the society, have to

remain unemployed for a considerable period of time before they find employment often

in areas outside their fields of study. Private universities on the other hand remain

confined only to a few disciplines that have high market demand. The paper concludes

with a few policy recommendations for improving equitable access to, and efficiency,

both internal and external, of higher education in Bangladesh.

Inequality in taxing Wages between Private and Public Sector

In Bangladesh, income tax for government employees is deemed paid by their employer that is

government. However, if a private employer pays income tax for its employees, such payments

are considered income, which creates additional tax burden for the employee of the private

firm. This seems discriminatory, that encourages employees of private firms to avoid or evade

taxes.

Bangladesh's Severe Transportation Problems

Is traffic bad in your city? Read this editorial about the challenges faced by Bangladesh,

and feel better.

"The City's transport system is in a terrible mess. No plan to improve the system seems to

be working. The bizarre traffic congestion, bad shape of the roads and their arteries and

ever increasing vehicular traffic are making the condition worse day-by-day.

Another component of the project, Traffic Engineering Department (TED) is yet to see

the light of the day. The traffic department was proposed to be under the DCC

management from Dhaka Metropolitan Police. Even after four years of the proposal, it

could not be implemented."

Published On: 2008-06-14

Urban

To solve the transportation problem of Dhaka metropolitan area

In order to solve the transportation problem of Dhaka City, the Strategic Transport Plan (STP) for

Dhaka City was initiated in March, 2004 by GOB with the assistance of World Bank, and with

Louis Berger Inc. as Principal Consultants and Bangladesh Consultant Ltd. as local partner. In

August, 2004 an Advisory Committee comprising of some 32 members from different categories

of professionals, engineers, planners, architects, academics and civil servants was appointed to

guide and oversee the work of the consultants. The plan (STP) was completed in December,

2005.

The Strategic Transport Plan (STP) has made some strategic recommendations to solve the

transportation problems of Dhaka City. The major components of the Strategic Transport Plan

are the following:

(A) Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system, which include the following components :

a) Three Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Routes of total length of about 200km. at a total cost of U. S. $

1.0 billion

b) Three Metro Lines with an estimated cost of about U. S. $ 2.1 billion, or Taka 14,500 crore

(B) 50 Roadway Projects including the following components

a) Three elevated expressways: Gulistan-Jatrabari Flyover; Gulistan - Mohakhali Elevated

Expressway; and Moghbazar Flyover; and

b) Two Bypass Roads: the Eastern Bypass and the Western Bypass.

The STP recommendations are highly capital-intensive option that will require a total investment

of US$ 5.52 billion or Taka 38,000 crores for its implementation, but the benefits which will be

achieved out of this investment will not be very significant. Some of the capital-intensive

projects as recommended in the STP are discussed below :

Metro System: The STP team has recommended a Metro System comprised of three Metro

Lines at a total cost of U.S. $ 2.1 billion or Taka 14,500 crores. The total length of the Metro

Lines is not known, but I guess it will be about 70 km. in length. If we consider that people will

walk down to Metro Stations from a distance of 1 km. to avail the Metro service, then the area-

coverage of Metro service will only be about 140 sq. km. But, the total area of Dhaka

Metropolitan City (RAJUK area) is about 1530 sq. km. Hence, the area-coverage of Metro Service

will be less than 10 percent of total area of Dhaka Metropolitan City. The STP team has failed to

recognize some major disadvantages of Metro system, such as, they are technically difficult and

potentially unfeasible in a city prone to flooding. If the Metro system has to be safe for

implementation and operation, then Dhaka City will have to be made completely flood-free for

all time, which will be extremely difficult. Metro construction requires costly excavation. Typical

costs of Metro is about $ 50.0 million to 240.0 million per km. Additional costs are involved with

other infrastructures, such as underground Metro stations. A Metro station costs about $ 150.0

million.

Operating costs of Metros are extremely high requiring very expensive electric rail cars. Metro

systems require constant and huge supply of electricity which will be very difficult to be ensured

in Dhaka City. Most Metro systems of the world have operating deficits which can often severe

the budget of the country. Worldwide experience is that, except in a few cases the fare of the

Metro ride is subsidized, and in some cases very heavily subsidized. The experience shows that

the various Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) projects from the late 1990's are all in financial trouble

and are nowhere achieving profitability.

In Sao Paulo Metro, the City Govt. pays a subsidy of $ 0.20 (25%) for each trip (total trips are 2.1

million per day). One of the more spectacular recent failures of a Metro and LRT was in Kuala

Lumpur, Malaysia. In the system there was substantial subsidy in the fare. The result was a

financial failure and the system was nationalized in late 2001. After only 3 years of operation the

system accumulated debts of more than US$ 1.4 billion leading to the biggest bankruptcy in

Malaysian corporate history. The 20km Metro in Singapore, built at a total cost of US$ 2.9

billion, have an operational loss of US$ 1.1 million per month in 2004. The STP recommended

Metro for Dhaka city, if it is built and operated, will have a minimum economic fare of Tk. 10.0

for the ride of 1 km. distance, which will be affordable only for a very small percentage of

passengers. In order to make it affordable for middle-income group of people, at least 50

percent subsidy in the fare will be required. The STP has estimated that about 57,42,000

passenger trips will be carried daily by the Metro, and the average trip-lengths will be about 5

km. Hence, a subsidy of Tk. 143.55 million will have to be paid daily and the yearly subsidy will

be about Tk. 5240 crores. The construction of Metros is often agonizingly slow. The 20km Metro

in Singapore was under construction for nearly 8 years. The Blue Line Subway (21km.) in

Bangkok was under construction for about 7 years. Flexibility to expand and adaptability to a

changing situation is also a key requirement for any mass transit system. Dhaka is rapidly

growing and the situation in the city is rapidly changing. But the expansion of the Metro system

is very complex. Per kilometer construction cost of Metro is about hundred times more than

that of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, and thus the Metro system is likely to cover only a very

small portion of the city and would be of far less use if the private auto users are not diverted to

the Metro service. According to the STP estimate, the Dhaka Metropolitan Study Area will

generate daily seven crore travel-trips of which only 8% of the trips will be served by Metro

service. With an investment of Tk. 14,500 crores, the Metro system will not be able to solve

more than 10 percent of the transportation problems of Dhaka City.

Watch for Signs of Poor Project Planning

According to project management experts, you can spot major trouble on the horizon if you

keep your eyes peeled for any of these five poor project planning symptoms.

1. Lack of Shared Documentation

Well-planned projects always start with a vision document and a statement of work. Both of

these documents can help team leaders refocus their efforts whenever it feels like a project has

started to drift off course. Regular review cycles allow all team members to check their progress

against the project’s original vision. Teams suffering from poor project planning either skipped

over the creation of these important documents or simply shelved them in favor of dealing with

urgent issues.

2. Lack of Attention to Detail

In addition to meeting deadlines and passing milestones, project teams with strong plans tend

to be highly accurate. If typos creep into project documents or if errors emerge in project

deliverables, team leaders could be held accountable for cutting corners. Teams suffering from

poor project planning frequently abandon review and assessment tasks in favor of “crunch

time” production.

3. Unclear Status

Although every project team tends to track its status in different ways, successful teams always

understand how to learn the current status of their project. Without a status update system and

with a lack of review and assessment periods, team members can easily lose track of their own

pieces of the puzzle. Poor project planning often creates environments where team members

have no clear idea how their colleagues are progressing. The problem gets even worse in

complex projects, especially when team members rely on each others’ completed tasks for

information or for raw material.

4. Poorly Defined Cycles or Milestones

Expert project planners follow the advice of Stephen Covey when they “begin with the end in

mind.” Backtiming project milestones using generous estimates of the time needed to complete

tasks is one of the most reliable way of measuring project success. However, when poor project

planning causes team leaders to create vague milestones without clear deadlines, participants

lack the ability to gauge their own progress.

5. Surprise Overtime

Whether or not milestones and deadlines have been poorly defined, a sudden necessity for

extra human resources is one of the most visible hallmarks of poor project planning.

“Crunching” to meet deadlines might feel like an adrenaline-laced team building exercis.

However, relying on sudden bursts of energy suggests a heavy emphasis on external motivation

instead of a commitment to assign resources effectively.

Govt trying best to overcome food crisis: Moeen advises people to eat

potato with rice

Staff Correspondent, Bogra, The Daily Star, 03 April 2008

Army chief General Moeen U Ahmed yesterday said the country is experiencing a food crisis to

some extent and the government is trying its best to overcome it. He suggested adopting a habit

of eating potato with rice to ease the pressure on the staple. “The only problem in the country

at present is to make food available for everyone,” Gen Moeen said after visiting a farmers’

market set up under the supervision of the army at Chelopara in Bogra city. Stressing the need

for growing the habit of eating potato, Moeen said, “Eating potato with rice will reduce the

demand for rice while fulfilling the nutrition requirement.” The army chief appreciated the

initiative for setting up the farmers’ market for direct marketing of farm produce. He said such

markets would be set up across the country to help decrease the number of middlemen, which

will benefit both the buyers and sellers. He assured the farmers of taking initiatives so that the

market is not evicted with the change of government and developing the marketplace as a

permanent business centre. Gen Moeen noted that the country faced natural disasters last year

but nobody had to starve to death. “We all tried and succeeded in tackling the situation,” he

said. UNB adds: The army chief said the Food Department has already started selling rice at fair

price on the open market and the government is increasing rice allocation and the number of

dealers. “More people will be able to buy rice at fair price [at Tk 25 per kg] and save money,” he

said. He said 78 lakh tonnes of potato has been produced across the country in the current

season and the production of wheat also almost doubled. He hoped there would be a bumper

production of Boro paddy this season as the supplies of seeds, fertilisers and power were

normal. Bogra Area Commander and GOC of 11 Infantry Division Major General Muhammad

Shamim Chowdhury, senior army officials and government officials accompanied the army chief.

Meanwhile, Naznin Moeen, wife of the army chief, yesterday inaugurated Millennium Scholastic

School in Jahangirabad Cantonment area in the city.

Good Governance: Role of Individuals Vs. Institutions

In the recent years, Bangladesh made some progress in many areas of economic and

social development such as maintaining macroeconomic stability, growth in exports and

in remittances, increase in enrolment in primary education, improvements in female's

education, reductions in infant and maternal mortality and improvement in women's

empowerment. Yet there are growing concerns that Bangladesh 's development prospects

are frustrated by bad governance. One does not need to go in the nitty gritty to understand

how bad governance affected the economy.  Experts tell us that two percent or more of

the GDP is lost to corruption and bad governance. Bad governance results to huge loss in

economic growth annually. Bad governance and corruption deter investment, waste

national resources and disequate allocation and increase insecurity. Moreover, the poor

suffer most from the consequences of bad governance and corruption. Amongst the major

governance weakness: pervasive corruption, weak governance, absence of monitoring

institutions seriously affects economic growth and poverty reduction in the country.

Though the methodology used by Transparency International (TI) to measure corruption

has been subject to many questions, yet holding the first position in Corruption

Perception Index (CPI) for 5 consecutive years has tarnished the image of Bangladesh .

Good Governance: Rule of Law not rule of men or women

Good governance is an extension of the principle of the rule of law. Any society is well-

governed when there is a rule of law, not a rule of men or woman. A modern state is

extensively governed by rules, regulations and laws, by complex guidelines and

instructions, restrictive, prohibitive and penal procedures. Good governance can become

myth for the people when the public representatives, bureaucrats and judiciary put rules

and regulations aside and start ruling by using political office for personal gains. It has

often been seen in history that an elected government may not be democratic but

autocratic in practice imposing dictatorship of the head of the government. This can

happen even in the parliamentary form of governments. It is ironical that, the democratic

world is satisfied if the adults of a country can cast their votes at a periodic interval in a

festive mood. But little do they bother whether these festive periodic exercises called

election (made in Bangladesh) puts the voter in a helpless coercive situation to choose

muscleman or criminals nominated by party A or party B as their representative only to

endorse a rule of terrors or criminals.

The basic problem of maintaining rule of law in Bangladesh is the belief of a powerful

group of politicians, bureaucrats, elites, business personalities and other persons from

other professions, that although all human beings are created equal, they are more than

the created equals. Law and judicial systems exist for those who are less equal than them,

allowing them to float above the law and the arms of the court are not long enough to

reach them. This irony in the day to day affairs of Bangladesh is the breeding ground of

corruption, mis-governance and mis-fortune. The search for a policy and system to

combat corruption is essentially a search for a leveler, except death which will cut the

size of those more-than-equals to their proper size and dimension. If corruption is to be

combated, it would have to be addressed both by way of a change of mind set and a

change of consequences.

Good Governance: People Centric Governance

The broad concept of good governance is the process of governing with maximum

participation of the people. Good Governance refers to the broad set of actions that a

government undertakes to ensure people centric socio-politico- economic mechanisms to

function effectively.  Good governance, then, arises from actions of a government which

is honest, transparent, accountable, efficient, and institutionally sound.  Establishing good

governance in Bangladesh requires reforms of the political System, electoral system, state

machinery – and institutions to monitor the governance. 

Weakness in governance is most visible by rampant corruption in economic and business

arena in Bangladesh .  To tackle corruption, we cannot just focus on the demand side of

corrupt payments; we must also combat the supply side. The government, public sector,

private sector, ministers, parliament members as well as individuals were all pre

dominantly involved in corrupt practices in Bangladesh .  To combat corruption, we must

focus on most of the infected organs of the state. 

Good Governance: Conceptual Framework

A number of multilateral organizations ( e.g. UNDP, World Bank, OECD) and bilateral

organizations have emphasized on the elements of good governance and its impact on

development. Multilateral organizations generally equate good governance with sound

economic management based on (i) Accountability; (ii) Participation; (iii) Predictability

and (iv) Transparency.

The concept of good governance has been clarified by the UN's Commission on Human

Rights and identified the key attributes of good governance as: 1.Transparency

2.Responsibility 3.Accountability 4.Participation 5.Responsiveness

However, there are some bilateral donors who are not satisfied with this narrow economic

definition of good governance. They would like at least Five more elements to be

included as an essential part of good governance, namely (i) Democratization; (ii) Human

Rights; (iii) Rule of Law; (iv)Cuts in Military Expenditure and (v) Probity.

HUMAN DIGNITY AND HUMILIATION STUDIES

stated that: Syed Ahsanul Alam, Associate Professor of Marketing, University of

Chittagong in his article "Road Map To Good Governance - The Nine 'I' Model "

explains that "Democracy cannot flourish in the absence of good governance." He

explains: "The pre-condition for good governance is effective democratic institutions for

democratizing the society. Improvement of the living standard of people cannot happen

where people cannot participate in governance, human rights are not respected,

information does not flow, and civil society and the judiciary are weak. According to him

Nine criteria of good governance may be used to determine whether any country qualifies

to have good governance are:

1. INDEPENDENT AND NON PARTISAN ELECTION COMMISSION

2. INDEPENDENT JUDICIARY AND THE RULE OF LAW

3. INDEPENDENT MEDIA AND FREEDOM OF SPEECH

4. INDEPENDENT ANTI-CORRUPTION COMMISSION

5. INDEPENDENT AND EFFECTIVE PARLIAMENT

6. INDEPENDENT HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

7. INDEPENDENT OMBUDSMAN SYSTEM

8. INVESTING IN THE PEOPLE

9. INVESTMENT FRIENDLY GOVERNMENT."

Source : http:// www.bangladesh-web.com/view .php?hidDate=2007-02-11

&hidType=EDT

During the previous regimes Good governance in Bangladesh was far from the actual

consonance of the term. There are several factors and issues that are constraining the very

process of good governance. The major factors are i) corruption, ii) politicization of

administration, iii) weak democratic institutions, iv) autocratic parliament, v) absence of

the rule of law and vi) absence of meritocracy etc.

The ESCAP of the United Nations has emphasized for good governance, the participatory

nature of the government and the rule of law. According to this definition, good

governance has 8 major characteristics -"It is i) participatory, ii) consensus oriented

accountable, iii) transparent, iv) responsive, v) effective, vi) efficient, vii) equitable and

viii) inclusive and follows the rule of law." By the rule of law ESCAP means fair legal

frameworks and impartial enforcement of laws by an independent judiciary and

incorruptible police force.

Good Governance: Role of Individual Stakeholders

Everyday policy makers, professionals, business leaders, sociologist, economists and

others independently generate amazing number of ideas and thoughts. The reasons that

these ideas don't come to fruition is because like-minded reformers do seldom collaborate

to bring changes.  There are a lot of international and domestic organizations, NGOs,

government agencies, opinion leaders and others – that are all individually working on

tackling corruption in a piece-meal fashion.  A more comprehensive approach to address

governance will be more fruitful.  Corruption can be marginalized if not eliminated if all

stakeholders work together in a coordinated manner against corruption. 

Ideas and thoughts are ineffective if not put to actions. Unless what is thought is acted

upon, such thought has no value.  What is important is the commitment of all the citizens

– leaders of respective fields– to take on the challenge of replacing bad governance with

that of good governance and to do one's own part to address it in a collaborative manner. 

Corruption, as in all affairs in society may be viewed from the two sides: a demand side

and a supply side. The demand side can only be curbed by reforms of institutions,

strengthened enforcement of law by a transparent judiciary.  As the owner of the country

all citizens are affected by bad governance everyday, and as such they should insist

reforms of the legislative, executive and judicial organ of the country. The stake holders

of good governance should get united to raise voice against corruption to curve the

supply side. Thus the citizens will have to participate in the crusades against corruption

and only moral support to the Anti Corruption Commission ( ACC ) is not enough to

eliminate corruption.

Good Governance: Role of Civil Society

Citizens face potential corruption practically at every level and every sector of life. It

could be the local police, T.N.T, electricity and water authority, municipal corporation or

the tax department. Government alone cannot succeed in combating corruption without

the active participation of civil society and citizen action groups. Civil society is in the

best position to articulate the grievances of the citizen and highlight priorities of action on

corruption to governments. Civil society can serve many important roles–as observer,

critic, analyst, campaigner, or protestor. It can create public awareness against corruption

and mobilize citizens to fight against corruption in ways that governments cannot. Civil

society can also play a strong role to organize campaigns against corruption.

Civil society organizations, Citizens' action groups, NGOs, media, and Chambers–can

play the largest role in improving governance both in the public and private sector. 

Chambers can be more active by organizing seminars, workshops, round tables to

generate awareness against corruption and unethical business practice. Chambers can

establish anti corruption cell headed by a vice president with adequate funds to establish

liaison with media, anti corruption commission (ACC) and other government agencies to

combat corruption and protect its members from extortion and corrupt claims. Mega

chambers should formulate code of conduct for their members and put pressure on the

members for compliance.  Awareness regarding code of conduct for members of

chambers would have trickle down effect on smaller business enterprises and so on. 

NGOs can keep a pivotal role in raising awareness among the general public about the

bad effect of bad governance. Most of our citizens understand that they are victims of

corruption at their own level and corrupt governance affects their pocket. NGOs and

other social organizations can make coordinated efforts to spread the message that

corrupt governance at every level affects the economic development, impair equitable

distribution of wealth, destroys social justice and degrades moral of the society.

Corruption degrades the dignity of any nation.  Researchers and academicians presented

reports on how corruption destroyed the foundation of our economy.  Mass campaign

against corruption should be launched to develop public resistance against corruption and

to provoke public support in favor of crusade against corruption by the Anti corruption

commission (ACC). ACC should be proactive in setting the agenda and framework

through which to engage civil society in the battle against corruption.

Good Governance: Role of Private Sector

The private sector can play a more active role in rooting out the supply side of

corruption.  It is painful that most businessman and citizens looks at corrupt practice as a

system.  According to unofficial estimates many business house just account for it on

their books – as much as 10% – adding to the cost of doing business.  Business leaders as

well as the government should take initiatives so that local and foreign investors can set

up business enterprise and function in Bangladesh without resorting to corruption and

extortion.  After 1/11/07 the present Anti corruption commission (ACC) visibly started a

crusade against corruption which may be looked upon as a proactive move towards

investment friendly governance.

Towards good governance the private sector must emphasize on internal controls and

auditing mechanisms.  Corporate bodies and business houses needs to set clear and

enforceable policies against corrupt or unethical business practices.  Business house need

to periodically train middle and senior management on business ethics to ensure that

standards are institutionalized throughout the organization.  Business houses should

change their mind-set to prefer managers having comprehensive business education with

emphasis on ethics.  Bangladeshi business managers can not afford to be unaware of

global ethical standards for doing business.

Good Governance: Role of Institutions

For good governance, existing institutions need to be strengthened by laws and

regulations. New regulatory institutions need to be created to address gaps in monitoring

governance. Stopping political appointments in institutions like the i) Anti-Corruption

Commission, ii) Human Rights Commissions, iii) Law commission, iv) Media and Press

Commission, v) Ombudsman system can be a good start towards ensuring good

governance.  But without transparent process and expertise in law-enforcement, such

commissions or agencies will remain ineffective. Another area that is easily noticeable is

lack of monitoring on government spending.  Ministries spend allocated funds as they see

fit on political considerations rather than their economic impact. Thus the modality of

investing in people goes against the interest of the mass people. Further ridiculous and

deceptive is the financial reporting system. Any reporting done is often years late.  An

effective institution should be formulated to monitor government spending which could

go a long way towards curbing irresponsible government spending on political or corrupt

motives. In this regard separating the accounting function from the auditing system is

now only a demand of time.

Every citizen is happy to see that the present caretaker government took steps towards

independent judiciary, independent human rights commission and independent election

commission. Furthermore, some institutions are taking steps to improve effectiveness and

efficiency within their authority. It is also expected the present government will initiate

reforms that will give greater results and fulfill aspiration of the people-the real owner of

the country.  It is ironical to note that yet there are no effective institutions with adequate

legal authority to curb unethical business practices or to protect consumer rights. 

Strong laws and regulations and timely enforcement system are needed to make sure that

the investors understand the modality for operating in Bangladesh .  Clearly defined laws,

rules and regulations will help regain investor's confidence to bring big investment in

Bangladesh .  Unexpected arbitrary changes to legal procedures without adequate notice

or public opinion, created perceptions that the political regimes catered to vested interests

or syndicates.

Good Governance: Role of Parliament:

Legislature is a fundamental component of good governance, which serves as a

demonstration of pluralism, tolerance of diversity and dissent as well as a place for

compromise and consensus building. The health of democracy of any nation is largely

dependant on a strong and functional legislature. A government with a legislature lacking

the capacity to effectively oversee the executive or influence policy cannot be deemed to

be democratic or delivering good governance. The role and task of the parliament is to

make laws and monitor the executive. They hold the executive organ of the government

accountable through committee hearings, intervention on important national issues and

making appropriate laws to sustain good governance. The formal government is only one

of the actors in good governance. Under any parliamentary system of government the

parliament is another key actor for ensuring good governance.

But when the speaker becomes partisan, when Parliament Members looses their

membership if they vote against anti people bills presented in the parliament by their

party due to the black law like Article 70 of the constitution, presenting bill in the

parliament becomes a farcical exercise. When ministers do not remain accountable even

to the MPs, the parliament becomes autocratic establishing parliamentary autocracy and

Prime Ministerial dictatorship frustrating the spirit of people centric accountable

government. Further when the elected opposition in the Parliament abstains from taking

part in the proceedings of the Parliament, the Parliament becomes ineffective as a

constitutional arrangement of scrutinizing government's activities. The idea that the

opposition can topple a government without election is most unhelpful for democracy and

democratic good governance.

Good Governance: Role of Judiciary

Another characteristic of good governance is the presence of constitutional jurisdiction

on the political power. Such limits include transparent, creditable and periodic elections,

guarantees of Fundamental Rights, guarantees of Human Rights by an independent

judiciary, which allows citizens to seek protection of their rights and redress against

government actions. These limit help make government departments accountable to each

other and to the people. The last remaining bastion of the rule of law, the judiciary was

not separated from the executive organ by all previous governments. The lower judiciary

has degenerated into a politicized instrument of any ruling party. The upper judiciary is

now being exposed to a process of creeping politicization, where judicial appointments,

even at the highest level, are now made with an eye on who will be more serviceable as

the head of the Caretaker Government. Like in the United States and many other

countries we must also have an effective disciplinary authority over the misconduct of the

judges both in the lower judiciary and the Supreme Court. It is important that the judges

should devise their own disciplinary framework. The allegation of rampant corruption in

the lower judiciary is very disturbing and yet we do not find the judges themselves doing

anything to redress the grievance.

The citizen wants independence of the judiciary not to make the judges indulge in

corruption with impunity. Corruption in the judiciary makes mockery of the whole justice

system so much needed for good governance. In a participatory democracy it is essential

that citizens have faith in their public institutions. A judiciary that is seen as fair and

independent is a vital component in sustaining people's trust and confidence in the

judiciary. It is through judiciary that people truly experience the working of a democracy

and good governance. Another point to note is when a corruption scandal breaks open

because of the media or a government investigation, many agencies comes forward to

handle it. An independent and transparent judicial system can expeditiously bring

offenders to justice regardless of their position in politics or business.  Now a day in

many countries court document of many cases are available online through the court and

are posted for public consumption on major media websites.  This sort of public flogging

may create fear among people in high settings regarding corruption.  No denying the fact,

government, private sector, and citizens – especially the media – can eradicate corruption

by playing a collaborative role.

Good Governance: Role of Bureaucracy

While politicization of the bureaucracy disgustingly damaged the entire administration,

another new dimension is that the senior bureaucrats themselves are now inclined to get

political colour to get short and long-term benefit package. While the short-term benefit

package includes good and profitable postings, rapid promotions, extension of services,

etc, the long-term benefit package

of course revolves around such aspirations as induction in the party politics leading to

influential positions in the cabinet or office of profits. There is no doubt that such self

seeking stance on the part of the senior bureaucrats tells upon their accountability to the

people. As a result, virtually all public services as well as law enforcement have become

partisanized and commoditized to a point where the machinery of government has lost

virtually all capacity for functioning as an instrument of public service.

Good Governance: Role of Media

Bangladesh does have a very active media.  The recent growth in the number of private

electronic and print media outlets has increased not just the amount of information

available but also its quality.  Media should take a more aggressive role in investigating

and exposing large scale and high profile corruption.  Naming and shaming can be a very

effective tactic to eradicate corruption in our country. Even in developing countries,

where corruption is accepted as a necessary evil, naming and shaming tactic has been

effective in recent years.  In India , high profile cases uncovered and actively reported by

the media have led to disgraceful dismissals of high level government officials and even

criminal action against political leaders. No such example has been set by the political

governments in Bangladesh in the past.  But the media demonstrated ability to generate

outrage among the public that can be channeled productively to control and eradicate

corruption. Nobody can undermine the role and power of media in the society for

establishing good governance.

However with its powerful role, even the media may get corrupted or come under undue

influence.  Editors and reporters must be vigilant so that corrupt and unethical journalistic

practices do not undermine the power of the media.  Media groups, just like professional

bodies, need to set journalistic ethical standards and train their reporters adequately to

ensure that they are not easily influenced by corruption. Bangladesh needs modern laws

towards ethical journalism to ensure accurate reporting without undue influence or

intimidation.  Law need to ensure that the media acts responsibly in investigations to

avoid slandering business or political leaders without adequate information or with evil

motives.  Also laws should be enacted to protect the media from law suits and injunctive

actions from business houses and politicians who use the courts to muzzle the press.

Bangladeshi media has a good reputation that needs to be fiercely protected and

improved upon through training of unbiased reporting.  Once the media can prove to be

unbiased, it gains the ability to champion apolitical, social causes that can benefit the

society at large. And in this regard establishing an independent media and press

commission with broad based representation from all walks of life has become a burning

issue.

Good Governance: Role of Educational Institutions

Teachers, trainers, professionals, educators have big responsibilities to raise voice for

good governance.  Teachers can implant hatred against corruptions among the students at

an early age.  Intermediate and secondary education can inform young minds about the

importance of good governance as precondition for development. Education on critical

issues like women empowerment, human rights, consumer rights, right to information,

freedom of speech etc can help empower a new generation who will come forward to

initiate positive reforms towards good governance.

In Bangladesh any one will be shocked to see the growing number of private universities.

This is a proof to the growing demand of education. The highest demand for education

has been in the Business, Law and IT schools. Students are flocking to them because they

see the tremendous potential of business education and IT education in a global context. 

Business schools need to ensure that their students have a comprehensive business

education that emphasizes business ethics and law related to the internet. Such is the case

for IT education which also needs ethical and legal knowledge regarding internet related

crimes. Students taking IT and computer related courses as well as BBA, MBA, MBM

students need to be educated on global standards with comprehensive knowledge of

social responsibility of business, business ethics, business law in order to be competitive

in a global marketplace.  It should be mandatory that every curriculum includes at least

one course on ethics and international business law. Improvement in the quality of

business education will improve entrepreneurial development and business vision of

executives and entrepreneurs of Bangladesh .

Good Governance: Role of Anti Corruption Commission

Good governance also means combating corruption, and countries can not be considered

having good governance, if they are corrupt. To preserve the integrity of democracy,

governments must strive to rid themselves of corruptions and bribery. Corruption

destroys economic foundations, impedes the ability of developing countries to attract

foreign investment. Corruption hinders the growth of democratic institutions, and

concentrates power in the hands of a few having money and muscle. The best way to

combat corruption is for governments to be open and transparent. Official Secrecy Act

must not be abused. While in certain cases governments have a responsibility to retain

secrecy and confidentiality regarding national security and similar issues. Strong laws

against corruption and application of such laws and the actions of law enforcement

agencies that work against corruption demonstrate a government's commitment for the

principle of good governance.

The general lack of political will to fight corruption during the previous governments are

evident from the fact that after more than 35 years of independence only now the

Independent Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is being set up. It is a bold step on the

part of the present government. Unhindered corruption has the vicious effect of eroding

from within all the efforts at building the democratic institutions of good governance. The

people aspiration is that the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) will prove

to be sufficiently independent and bold to punish corruption in high places of the

government. Corruption must be uprooted to help the institutions of good governance

function in the way these are intended to. Because where good governance fails

democracy does not also survive and where democracy is absent politicians do not rule.

Good Governance: Role of Election Commission :

Independent and Non Partisan Election Commission is a precondition for free & fair

participative elections to elect public representative to the parliament. Elections,

however, are not the only cornerstone to democracy. Accountable leadership and

fulfillment of the will of the people are essential to ensuring that elections are a means to

a democratic society, not an end in themselves. It is critical that a nation's elections be

free and fair in level play ground. This means that every citizen has an equal access and

opportunity to compete to become public representative. Voters must have a choice

among candidates and that they have a right to information concerning those candidates.

Independent election commission must ensure that voters are not put in a coercive

helpless situation to choose muscleman or criminals nominated by party A or party B as

their representative to the parliament to establish rule of terrors or criminals. The election

commission must ensure the options for voters to reject if criminals are given

nominations by casting "No" votes.

Good Governance: Role of Public Service Commission:

The Public services in Bangladesh are services provided by the government to the

community and include administration, police, health, education, taxation, forestry,

electricity, foreign service, amongst others. The Constitution of the People's Republic of

Bangladesh has provisions for setting up one or more Public Service Commissions

(Article 137). The Commission consists of 11 members including a Chairman. All of

them are appointed by the President (Article 138). Provisions should be made so that the

President of the Republic can make such appointments judiciously and piously without

any interference of a political Prime Minister. If politicization of the PSC can be stopped

Bangladesh Public Service Commission (PSC) could play a vital role in recruitment,

promotion, discipline, posting and transfer of government servants. This constitutional

body is supposed to ensures that decisions relating to the public services sector are made

in line with equity and merit. For the first time in the history of the Public Service

Commission, allegations such as document-tampering, question-paper leakage etc were

raised. The integrity of the Public Service Commission has been further compromised by

the politicization of its senior appointments. While the incidences of corrupt practices are

proliferating beyond imagination, the law-enforcing agencies are almost helpless before

the political pressure group.

STEPS TO SOLVE POLITICAL PROBLEMS

Political problems are supposed to be the root cause of poor governance in Bangladesh. Because

political parties who ultimately governs the country contains the following problems: There are

more than 100 political parties in Bangladesh but very few of them have definite ideology or

programmes to be followed by supporters and future generations. Though one or two parties

have ideologies and programmes, the leaders often defy them for their own gain. Each major

party is headed by a person who is omnipotent in the management of the party, including the

formation of central and executive committees. The constitutions of most of the parties are

absolutely monolithic in nature. The basic reason behind almost all the problems is the illiterate

and politically unconscious people behind the scene who are supplying the real force into the

body polity of Bangladesh. To get rid of this problem we need to make our people educated and

politically conscious. And to do that here again comes the question of dedicated leadership. So

for the sake of democracy in the country the following steps should be taken by leaders The

hereditary nature of leadership should be abolished and the party constitution should be

amended to allow change in leadership after each specified term The party structure and

committees should be filled only by elections and this will encourage as well as develop

leadership from the grassroots- level The post of party president and the leader of the

parliamentary party should not be held by the same person. Ministers must be barred from

holding any party office. This will ensure the entity of the party as an institution of democracy on

one hand, and on the other, the party will be in a position to exercise a sort of control over the

government or the parliamentary party so that they do not deviate from their party mandate or

manifesto. What is urgently needed now is to play an effective role by some of our MPs or

political leaders who are really sincere, educated and devoted to the institutionalization of

parliamentary democracy; they should from their respective parties, whenever and whatever

way possible, consistently create a sort of genuine pressure so that Khaleda-Hasina cannot take

any arbitrary or dictatorial actions to destroy democracy. Although a lot of measures need to be

taken for ensuring good governance. I hope, if sincere efforts can be taken for implementing the

above-mentioned steps then good governance will be ensured. On the other extreme, the

opposition, civil society and social groups and organizations also have the moral obligations to

help and cooperate with the governments in this juncture.

Conclusion

In a developing country for good governance the fight against corruption is not easy.

Bangladesh after 1/11/07 has experienced a big leap towards fighting corruption. It is

expected the present caretaker government, patriot citizens and other stakeholders will be

able to address the most difficult challenge – fighting corruption. Corruption is a

tremendous deterrent to good governance and development, and its burden falls heaviest

on the shoulders of the poor people. An effective Anti-Corruption Commission – with

strong political backing, can become a credible tool to deter corruption. All concerned

should help the ACC to be fully operative. If Bangladesh wants to become a country free

of poverty and economically strong, where every citizen will enjoy his or her rights and a

better quality life, fighting corruption is the most important need. It is the responsibility

of every stakeholder to respond to this need towards corruption free, transparent,

participatory good governance ensuring equity and social justice.

In Bangladesh , it is evident that the present condition of governance is not satisfactory.

Many issues and problems are the barriers to ensure good governance , equity and social

justice . Corruption, political interference in administration, nepotism, misuse of power,

absence of rule of law, non-accountable and non-transparent government etc. are the

common features of our governance. Although a lot of measures may be taken for

ensuring good governance, it is high time to make our autocratic parliament a democratic

one. And re-engineer the role of the dictatorial Prime Minister to a democratic one. In the

interest of good governance, time has come for us to think about amending the black

law(Article 70 of the constitution) to curve its abuse and free the public representatives to

voice peoples aspiration in the parliament. Public opinion should be mobilized to

discourage boycotting of Parliament and make the Parliament fully functional and

democratic by making the speaker system a non-partisan institution.

It is also necessary to make the ministers accountable to the parliament members while

discharging their executive roles to make the parliament truly democratic. Re-engineering

is also required to make the MPs the key actors of the parliament instead of the ministers

by making the parliamentary standing committees more powerful, effective and

functional. All the standing committees of the parliament must be formed and made fully

functional by the third session of any elected parliament. To ensure increased

accountability and set the culture of resignation due to failure or inefficiency of ministers,

legal provisions should be made so that cabinet ministers has to render resignation if no

confidence motion is moved by one third members of the parliaments of which one third

must be from the ruling party. It is required to make the parliament effective and

functional and center of all debates. On the other hand, the opposition, civil society and

social groups and organizations also have the moral obligations to help and co-operate

the government in establishing good governance. But after 1/11/07 discussions are tabled

that constitutional amendments are necessary to bring checks and balance of powers

between the President, Prime minister and Speaker of the country. To make the

parliament democratic, functional, effective measures should be taken to make the

speaker panel a institution above partisan standing. Further brain storming is required

whether a national security council can play a even positive role in maintaining balance

of power as it is said - Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely .

Author Syed Ahsanul Alam is an Associate Professor of marketing at the University of

Chittagong, Bangladesh, & Chairman, Center for Good Governance. His recent

administrative post includes Vice Rector IIBT ( Premier University ), Director, Sadharan

Bima Corp Treasurer USTC (SWC),., Representative of the President, USTC. He

lectured widely at various business schools including University of Science &

Technology, Open University, ABAC Thailand and also in Singapore . Rotarian Syed

Ahsanul Alam is a well known academician, institution building personality and an

activist for Good Governance.

Road Map to Good Governance– The Nine I Model

Economic development can not flourish in the absence of good governance. The precondition

for good governance is effective democratic institutions. What is important for good governance

is democratizing the society? Improvement of the living standard of people can not participate

in governance, human rights are not respected, information does not flow and civil society and

the judiciary is weak. We can outline nine criteria of good governance that may be used to

determine whether any country qualifies to have good governance. For good governance also

predominantly important are institutions like: 1. Independent and non partisan election

commission 2. Independent Judiciary and the rule of law 3. Independent media and freedom of

speech 4. Independent anti-corruption commission 5. Investing in the people 6. Independent

and effective parliament 7. Independent human rights commission 8. Independent ombudsman

system 9. Investment friendly environment I would propose these Nine components to be

referred as the Nine I’s of good governance or Nine `I’ model of good governance. These Nine

components of good governance should be institutionalized as democratic institutions for

democratization the society. In the absence of these Nine I’s good governance in Bangladesh

like any other country will be a far city. These components constitute the foundations of modern

democracy and create the underpinning to establish free economy and spur domestic and

foreign investment, specially the potential investment of the non resident Bangladeshi (NRB’s)

particularly in the case of Bangladesh. It is not true that only elections lead to a democracy.

Democracy should be a 200-300 pages of home work (Manifesto) of the political parties where

they ought to outline their ideas and concept of democracy they want to offer to the citizens in

lieu of their votes. The political parties should make it vividly transparent as to how and when

they will apply their policies for establishing a democratic society ensuring parity, rule of law,

equitable distribution of wealth, social justice, freedom of speech and thought if voted to

power. The political philosophy and the commitment of the political parties should be expressed

in the form of party manifesto much ahead of elections for empowering the voters so that they

can make informed decisions before casting their votes during the elections. In Bangladesh,

unfortunately the practice of presenting the manifesto of the political parties are not

transparent and as such it may be stated that political commitment of the parties to people is

also not transparent which gives the parties a space to shift form their commitments and

promise after the election. Sound politics and their execution are essential pre-condition of

development. good governance necessarity means govern justly, invest in the people and

encourages private economic enterprise. To decide whether our country meets these standards

must be determined by using specific indicators of performance. A crucial indicator will be

evidence that our country practices good and just governance. Bangladesh is yet to promote

principles of good governance and initiative of our civil society reinforces the need for good

governance. Through cooperative ventures of our parliament, judiciary, executive organ of the

state along with the civil society it is possible to enact policies and design the good governance

so that human dignity and freedom are allowed to flourish. Some of the principles of good

governance date back to the time of ancient Greece. Others are principles developed in more

recent years or lessons learned from our own history and that of other democracy practicing

societies. Broadly speaking, good governance promotes fundamental and universal human

rights. As per our constitution the political power lies with the people (Article 7). Principles of

good governance allow people to pursue their lives in a just, equitable and democratic society.

Countries like Bangladesh need the tools to educate their citizens to take part in the

opportunities offered by the global economy. We need to work to eradicate corruption and

create a renewed respect for human rights as well as constitutional rights. Perhaps the most

basic and important principle of good governance is that a nations political institutions be

democratic. In the words of one of America’s greatest presidents, Abraham Lincoln, democracy

is a form pf government “of the people, by the people and for the people.” This means that the

rights and principles of democratic government can and should be universally applied. They are

not a uniquely American invention. The right of every person to speak freely about his

government is a basic human right to overcome bad governance and make sure that

government by the party, for the politician and nothing for the people be not established. The

right of any citizens to express his opinion about his government is one that is supported by the

doctrine “Rule by the Ruled” as has been recognized by nations all over the world. Now let us

examine the Nine I’s of good governance. Independent and non partisan election commission

Independent and Non partisan election commission is a precondition for free and fair

participative elections to elect public representative to the parliament. Elections however are

not the only cornerstone to democracy. Accountable leadership and fulfillment of the Will of the

people is essential to ensuring that elections are a means to a democratic society, not an end in

themselves. One of the indicators of good governance is a country’s commitment to citizen’s

political rights for functional democracy. It is critical that a nation’s election be free and fair level

plane ground. This means that every citizens have a equal access and opportunity to compete to

become public representative. Votes have a choice among candidates and that they have a right

to information concerning those candidates background. Free and fair elections are open and

transparent to all people without discrimination based on sex, religion or race. Such elections

are not restricted by government interference and coercion by money and muscle. The right to

free and fair elections should be guaranteed by independent non partisan election commission

having appropriate capabilities and skill to deliver hones acceptable elections. And such elected

government can only be held accountable to their citizens. Voters should be able to participate

freely in the political process, whether through political parties or independent candidates.

Independent Judiciary and the rule of law Another criterion of good governance is independent

judiciary, important for preserving the rule of law. It is very essential to have a strong judiciary

and courts to ensure that a nation’s laws are enforced constantly and fairly. All organs of

government must be law abiding. The rule of law also is the basis for the formation of Business

enterprise and the establishment of a free market, which underpin economic development.

Citizens or their elected representatives should be involved in all levels of lawmaking including

the local government. Participation in this process gives people the confidence that the law will

protect their property rights and human rights. Respects for the citizens and rights relating to

personal privacy are a far cry in a weak democracy like Bangladesh. Another characteristic of

good governance is the presence of constitutional limits on the political power. Such limits

include transparent, creditable, periodic elections, guarantees of Fundamental Rights,

guarantees of Human rights by a independent judiciary, which allows citizens to seek protection

of their rights and redress against government actions. These limit help make government

departments accountable to each other and to the people. Accountability is another

characteristic that is considered globally for the eligibility when determining whether a country

practices good governance. Not only should the law be enforced, but it should also be enforced

fairly and without any sort of discrimination. good governance means equal protection for all

without any discrimination of sex, cast, creeds and race. An open and easy access to judicial and

administrative systems. Political and civil rights should not be denied to citizens because of their

sex, race or religion. A nation’s courts should not be open to only a select few. Government

agencies should allow appeals of regulations as well as citizen participation as well as citizen

participation in their decision-making process and citizens should be granted access to these

bodies in a timely and easy manner. Government also have a duty to protect their citizens from

criminal violence, especially the practice of trafficking of persons. Women, girls and children are

most vulnerable to this illegal trade, which can only be stopped by diligent law enforcement.

Independent media and freedom of speech To function properly, a democratic society must

ensure free exchange of information and ideas. This is best realized in the creation of a free and

open media and the freedoms of speech and expression. A free and independent media

provides voters with the information they need to make informed decisions. It facilitates the

exchange of political discourse, creating an “open place for ideas” where no view is neglected

and the best are chosen. Free media can also serve as a check on government power ensuring

that bureaucracy, public officials and government departments remain accountable to the

voters. The media’s ability to report on trade and industry and the economy is also important

for preserving public trust in the free economy and for attracting domestic and foreign

investment including the potential investment of the NRB’s. The right of the free media to

publish, to editorialize, to criticize and to inform is a fundamental principle of democracy.

Independent Anti-corruption commission: good governance also means combating corruption

and countries can not be considered having good governance, if they are corrupt. To preserve

the integrity of democracy, governments must strive to rid themselves of corruptions and

bribery. Corruption destroys economic foundations, impedes the ability of developing countries

to attract foreign investment. Corruption hinders the growth of democratic institutions and

concentrates power in the hands of a few having money and muscles. The best way to combat

corruption is for governments to be open and transparent. Official secrecy Act must not be

abused. While in certain cases governments have a responsibility to retain secrecy and

confidentiality regarding national security alike issues. Democratic governments must be

sensitive to the citizens’ right to know without any discrimination. Strong laws against

corruption, application of such laws and the actions of law enforcement agencies that work

against corruption demonstrate a government commitment to this principle. Investing in the

people good governance requires that government invest in their people and work to preserve

the welfare of their citizens, without regard to gender, race or religion. Government should

invest in health care, nutrition, housing, education and poverty elevation, They should ensure an

economic environment where people can find jobs and establish business enterprises. Along

with other measures, a government’s ability to provide job and a high standard of living for its

people is considered by the democratic world in determining governmental effectiveness. The

importance of the other Four- I’s i.e. Independent and effective parliament. Independent

Human Rights commission, Independent Ombudsman system, Investment friendly environment

could not be discussed here due to limitations of space which I have intention to discuss later in

some other articles of mine. Conclusion Practicing these components (Nine I’s) of good

governance results in a free and open society where people can pursue their hopes and

aspiration. This will facilitate the creation of free markets, which are trusted by investors and

financial institutions. good governance is a pre-condition for any economic development.

Development can not flourish where people can non participate in governance, human rights

are not respected, information does not flow and civil society and the judiciary are weak. UNDP

and the world Bank among others, have come to realize that focuses only on economic

governance at the expense of democratic governance fails. The proof is that, 42 of the 49 high

human development countries on the UN Development index are democracies. With few

exceptions, all of the world’s richest countries have the world’s most democratic governance.

The fundamental rights and the standard of living of Bangladeshi citizens will be enhanced

through the creation of strong democratic society with prosperous economy. All democratic

societies have deep appreciation for the freedoms and opportunities they enjoy and believe the

principles that underlie democratic institutions and vibrant civil society are the best way to

achieve sustainable economic development. Governments that govern rationally with the

commitment of good governance get support for their reform efforts from their people as well

as from the democratic world. ( Author is an Associate Professor of marketing at the University

of Chittagong and Chairman, Center for good governance. He lectured widely at university of

Science and technology.Open University, ABAC Thailand and also in Singapore. Mr. Alam has

contributed articles to leading business journals and is also editor of professional journals. His

recent administrative post includes Director – Shadharon Bima Corporation, Vice Rector-IIBT

(Premier University), Treasure-USTCSWC, Honorary Special Representative of the

President,USTC. Rotarian Syed Ahsanul Alam is a well known acamedician, institution building

personality and governance activist.)

Some news collects from newspaper

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